A Decade of Linear and Circular Polarimetry with the POLISH2 Polarimeter

Authors

• Sloane J. Wiktorowicz, Aerospace Corporation, USA
• Agnieszka Słowikowska, Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu
• Larissa A. Nofi, Aerospace Corporation, USA
• Nicole Rider, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Angie Wolfgang, SiteZeus
• Ninos Hermis, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
• Daniel Jontof-Hutter, University of the PacificFollow
• Amanda J. Bayless, Aerospace Corporation, USA
• Gary M. Cole, Starphysics Observatory
• Kirk B. Crawford, Aerospace Corporation, USA
• Valeri V. Tsarev, Aerospace Corporation, USA
• Michael C. Owens, Aerospace Corporation, USA
• Ernest G. Jaramillo, Aerospace Corporation, USA
• Geoffrey A. Maul, Aerospace Corporation, USA
• James R. Graham, University of California, Berkeley
• Maxwell A. Millar-Blanchaer, University of California, Santa Barbara
• Kimberly Bott, University of California, Riverside
• Jon C. Mauerhan, Aerospace Corporation, USA

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series

Department

Physics

ISSN

00670049

Volume

264

Issue

2

DOI

10.3847/1538-4365/aca407

First Page

1

Last Page

33

Publication Date

2-1-2023

Abstract

The POLISH2 optical polarimeter has been in operation at the Lick Observatory 3 m Shane telescope since 2011, and it was commissioned at the Gemini North 8 m in 2016. This instrument primarily targets exoplanets, asteroids, and the Crab Pulsar, but it has also been used for a wide variety of planetary, galactic, and supernova science. POLISH2's photoelastic modulators, employed instead of rotating wave plates or ferroelectric liquid crystal modulators, offer the unprecedented ability to achieve sensitivity and accuracy of order 1 ppm (0.0001%), which are difficult to obtain with conventional polarimeters. Additionally, POLISH2 simultaneously measures the intensity (Stokes I), linear polarization (Stokes Q and U), and circular polarization (Stokes V), which fully describe the polarization state of incident light. We document our laboratory and on-sky calibration methodology and our archival on-sky database, and we demonstrate the conclusive detection of circular polarization of certain objects.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Wiktorowicz, Sloane J.; Słowikowska, Agnieszka; Nofi, Larissa A.; Rider, Nicole; Wolfgang, Angie; Hermis, Ninos; Jontof-Hutter, Daniel; Bayless, Amanda J.; Cole, Gary M.; Crawford, Kirk B.; Tsarev, Valeri V.; Owens, Michael C.; Jaramillo, Ernest G.; Maul, Geoffrey A.; Graham, James R.; Millar-Blanchaer, Maxwell A.; Bott, Kimberly; and Mauerhan, Jon C., "A Decade of Linear and Circular Polarimetry with the POLISH2 Polarimeter" (2023). Pacific Faculty Work. 139.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/all-faculty/139