MATISSE in the era of GRAVITY+
Abstract
MATISSE, the mid-infrared spectro-interferometric imager of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), has been feeding on the light corrected by the GRAVITY+ Adaptive Optics (GPAO) systems since the retirement of MACAO on the four Unit Telescopes in 2024. We report the assessment of the new MATISSE performance with GPAO, based on commissioning observations obtained in 2024 and 2025 and compared with archival MACAO observations of the same stellar sources. The instrumental visibility transfer function is more stable in the L band, while its typical value in the L and N bands is unchanged; the visibility signal-to-noise ratio is consistent with, or better than, the values reported at the initial MATISSE commissioning. The correlated flux increases by 20--30\% in GRA4MAT mode thanks to a better fringe tracking performance, and the total flux injected into the instrument increases by a factor of 1.3 to 1.4 (up to 1.7) in the L band at low spectral resolution, with no measurable loss in the N band. Combined with the new K-band fringe-tracking limits enabled by GPAO, this translates into a sensitivity gain of a factor 2 to 6 in the L and M bands, a confirmation of the N-band limits similar to the MACAO era. We then report the performances of MATISSE with the GPAO's laser guide stars in November and December 2025. The updated noise figures follow the exposure time calculator predictions in LM LOW and MED and come out better than them in N LOW, the L-band transfer function is stable at the few percent level between observing blocks an hour apart, and correlated fluxes, differential phases and closure phases are recovered down to a 10\,mJy target. Embedded young stellar objects and AGN are now within reach, thanks to the better performances on red targets brought by the lasers. We finally discuss the science cases opened by this gain and the case for a future upgrade of the instrument.
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BibTeX
@misc{millour2026matisse,
title = {{MATISSE in the era of GRAVITY+}},
author = {Florentin Millour and Anthony Soulain and Stéphane Lagarde and Alexis Matter and Valentin Fleury and Farin Drewes and Mathis Houllé and Jules Scigliuto and Bruno Lopez and Anthony Meilland and G. Petrov Romain and Philippe Berio and Anthony Berdeu and Guillaume Bourdarot and Sylvestre Lacour and Mathias Nowak and Jean-Baptiste Le Bouquin and Antoine Mérand and Frank Eisenhauer and Julien Woillez and Miguel Montargès and Diogo Ribeiro and Taro Shimizu and Jens Kammerer and Xavier Haubois and Stefan Gillessen and Pierre Cruzalèbes and Frédéric Gonté and Walter Jaffe and James Leftley and Nicole Nesvadba},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.35057},
eprint = {2609.35057},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.35057},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - MATISSE in the era of GRAVITY+
AU - Florentin Millour
AU - Anthony Soulain
AU - St{é}phane Lagarde
AU - Alexis Matter
AU - Valentin Fleury
AU - Farin Drewes
AU - Mathis Houll{é}
AU - Jules Scigliuto
AU - Bruno Lopez
AU - Anthony Meilland
AU - G. Petrov Romain
AU - Philippe Berio
AU - Anthony Berdeu
AU - Guillaume Bourdarot
AU - Sylvestre Lacour
AU - Mathias Nowak
AU - Jean-Baptiste Le Bouquin
AU - Antoine M{é}rand
AU - Frank Eisenhauer
AU - Julien Woillez
AU - Miguel Montarg{è}s
AU - Diogo Ribeiro
AU - Taro Shimizu
AU - Jens Kammerer
AU - Xavier Haubois
AU - Stefan Gillessen
AU - Pierre Cruzal{è}bes
AU - Fr{é}d{é}ric Gont{é}
AU - Walter Jaffe
AU - James Leftley
AU - Nicole Nesvadba
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/28
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.35057
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.35057
AB - MATISSE, the mid-infrared spectro-interferometric imager of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), has been feeding on the light corrected by the GRAVITY+ Adaptive Optics (GPAO) systems since the retirement of MACAO on the four Unit Telescopes in 2024. We report the assessment of the new MATISSE performance with GPAO, based on commissioning observations obtained in 2024 and 2025 and compared with archival MACAO observations of the same stellar sources. The instrumental visibility transfer function is more stable in the L band, while its typical value in the L and N bands is unchanged; the visibility signal-to-noise ratio is consistent with, or better than, the values reported at the initial MATISSE commissioning. The correlated flux increases by 20--30\% in GRA4MAT mode thanks to a better fringe tracking performance, and the total flux injected into the instrument increases by a factor of 1.3 to 1.4 (up to 1.7) in the L band at low spectral resolution, with no measurable loss in the N band. Combined with the new K-band fringe-tracking limits enabled by GPAO, this translates into a sensitivity gain of a factor 2 to 6 in the L and M bands, a confirmation of the N-band limits similar to the MACAO era. We then report the performances of MATISSE with the GPAO's laser guide stars in November and December 2025. The updated noise figures follow the exposure time calculator predictions in LM LOW and MED and come out better than them in N LOW, the L-band transfer function is stable at the few percent level between observing blocks an hour apart, and correlated fluxes, differential phases and closure phases are recovered down to a 10\,mJy target. Embedded young stellar objects and AGN are now within reach, thanks to the better performances on red targets brought by the lasers. We finally discuss the science cases opened by this gain and the case for a future upgrade of the instrument.
ER -