IQUEYE at Gemini South: instrument, science commission, and first results

The Italian quantum eye (IQUEYE) is a fast photon counter based on the single photon avalanche diode detectors and capable of preserving a 0.5 ns h−1 accuracy photon time of arrival. IQUEYE was originally developed for intensity interferometry experiments, but now its scientific scope has been extended towards ultra fast astronomy, including optical pulsars, millisecond pulsars and the enigmatic fast radio bursts. IQUEYE’s capabilities are mainly restricted by the number of photons detected, a quantity that scales with the collector size of an optical telescope. Through the visitor instrument program at Gemini South (Cerro Pach´on, Chile) we brought IQUEYE to the 8.1-m dish, reaching an order magnitude sensitivity increased from previous operations. At Gemini South we installed IQUEYE to observe giant pulse emitters, millisecond pulsars, and transitional millisecond pulsars for over 40 hours in the span of a week. Here we present the instrument and its adaptation to Gemini South interfaces, the instrument commission, and show the immediate first results from its early operations.