1. RoboPol: A four-channel optical imaging polarimeter
- Author
-
Ramaprakash, A. N., Rajarshi, C. V., Das, H. K., Khodade, P., Modi, D., Panopoulou, G., Maharana, S., Blinov, D., Angelakis, E., Casadio, C., Fuhrmann, L., Hovatta, T., Kiehlmann, S., King, O. G., Kylafis, N., Kougentakis, A., Kus, A., Mahabal, A., Marecki, A., Myserlis, I., Paterakis, G., Paleologou, E., Liodakis, I., Papadakis, I., Papamastorakis, I., Pavlidou, V., Pazderski, E., Pearson, T. J., Readhead, A. C. S., Reig, P., Slowikowska, A., Tassis, K., and Zensus, J. A.
- Subjects
Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics - Abstract
We present the design and performance of RoboPol, a four-channel optical polarimeter operating at the Skinakas Observatory in Crete, Greece. RoboPol is capable of measuring both relative linear Stokes parameters $q$ and $u$ (and the total intensity $I$) in one sky exposure. Though primarily used to measure the polarization of point sources in the R-band, the instrument features additional filters (B, V and I), enabling multi-wavelength imaging polarimetry over a large field of view (13.6' $\times$ 13.6'). We demonstrate the accuracy and stability of the instrument throughout its five years of operation. Best performance is achieved within the central region of the field of view and in the R band. For such measurements the systematic uncertainty is below 0.1% in fractional linear polarization, $p$ (0.05% maximum likelihood). Throughout all observing seasons the instrumental polarization varies within 0.1% in $p$ and within 1$^\circ$ in polarization angle., Comment: 13 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS
- Published
- 2019
- Full Text
- View/download PDF