Characterization of a dual-beam, dual-camera optical imaging polarimeter

ABSTRACT Polarization plays an important role in various time-domain astrophysics to understand the magnetic fields, geometry, and environments of spatially unresolved variable sources. In this paper we present the results of laboratory and on-sky testing of a novel dual-beam, dual-camera optical im...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 2020-06, Vol.494 (4), p.4676-4686
Main Authors: Shrestha, Manisha, Steele, Iain A, Piascik, Andrzej S, Jermak, Helen, Smith, Robert J, Copperwheat, Chris M
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:ABSTRACT Polarization plays an important role in various time-domain astrophysics to understand the magnetic fields, geometry, and environments of spatially unresolved variable sources. In this paper we present the results of laboratory and on-sky testing of a novel dual-beam, dual-camera optical imaging polarimeter (MOPTOP) exploiting high sensitivity, low-noise CMOS technology, and designed to monitor variable and transient sources with low systematic errors and high sensitivity. We present a data reduction algorithm that corrects for sensitivity variations between the cameras on a source-by-source basis. Using our data reduction algorithm, we show that our dual-beam, dual-camera technique delivers the benefits of low and stable instrumental polarization (
ISSN:0035-8711
1365-2966
DOI:10.1093/mnras/staa1049