Optimised data reduction for the AMBER/VLTI instrument

Context. The signal processing of multi-aperture monomode interferometers using multiaxial recombination, such as AMBER/VLTI, makes use of the modeling of the fringes in the image space called the “P2VM method”. This method was only validated on simulated data. Aims. We aim to validate the P2VM method on-sky, and to use the knowledge acquired during more than three years of use of the instrument to provide improved data processing algorithms. Methods. We compare the on-sky results of the P2VM algorithm with those provided by the standard, well known, and robust Fourier method. Results. We first prove that the current implementation of the P2VM method used in the AMBER data reduction is biased for intermediate and low flux measurements. We determine the physical origin of these biases, then modify the data model accordingly, and introduce an improved noise model. We demonstrate that the P2VM method, together with the more realistic data and noise models, give results that are now in accordance with those provided by the Fourier method.