CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
Advanced Search
Home > Proceedings > Volume 10702 > Article
Paper
6 July 2018 A unique infrared spectropolarimetric unit for CRIRES+
Nikolai Piskunov, Eric Stempels, Alexis Lavail, Michael Escuti, Frans Snik, Andrey Dolgopolov, Milan Rozel, Candice Durandet, Artie Hatzes, Paul Bristow, Anna Brucalassi, Claudio Cumani, Reinhold J. Dorn, Andreas Haimerl, Ulrike Heiter, Renate Hinterschuster, Roman Follert, Derek Ives, Yves Jung, Florian Kerber, Barbara Klein, Jean-Louis Lizon, Thomas Marquart, Ignacio Molina-Conde, Luca Pasquini, Jérôme Paufique, Ernesto Oliva, Ansgar Reiners, Ulf Seemann, Jörg Stegmeier, Sebastien Tordo, Elena Valenti
Author Affiliations +
Proceedings Volume 10702, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VII; 1070234 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313512
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2018, Austin, Texas, United States
Abstract
High-resolution infrared spectropolarimetry has many science applications in astrophysics. One of them is measuring weak magnetic fields using the Zeeman effect. Infrared domain is particularly advantageous as Zeeman splitting of spectral lines is proportional to the square of the wavelength while the intrinsic width of the line cores increases only linearly. Important science cases include detection and monitoring of global magnetic fields on solar-type stars, study of the magnetic field evolution from stellar formation to the final stages of the stellar life with massive stellar winds, and the dynamo mechanism operation across the boundary between fully- and partially-convective stars. CRIRES+ (the CRIRES upgrade project) includes a novel spectropolarimetric unit (SPU) based on polar- ization gratings. The novel design allows to perform beam-splitting very early in the optical path, directly after the tertiary mirror of the telescope (the ESO Very Large Telescope, VLT), minimizing instrumental polariza- tion. The new SPU performs polarization beam-splitting in the near-infrared while keeping the telescope beam mostly unchanged in the optical domain, making it compatible with the adaptive optics system of the CRIRES+ instrument. The SPU consists of four beam-splitters optimized for measuring circular and linear polarization of spectral lines in YJ and HK bands. The SPU can perform beam switching allowing to correct for throughput in each beam and for variations in detector pixel sensitivity. Other new features of CRIRES+, such as substantially increased wavelength coverage, stability and advanced data reduction pipeline will further enhance the sensitivity of the polarimetric mode. The combination of the SPU, CRIRES+ and the VLT is a unique facility for making major progress in understanding stellar activity. In this article we present the design of the SPU, laboratory measurements of individual components and of the whole unit as well as the performance prediction for the operation at the VLT.
© (2018) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Citation Download Citation
Nikolai Piskunov, Eric Stempels, Alexis Lavail, Michael Escuti, Frans Snik, Andrey Dolgopolov, Milan Rozel, Candice Durandet, Artie Hatzes, Paul Bristow, Anna Brucalassi, Claudio Cumani, Reinhold J. Dorn, Andreas Haimerl, Ulrike Heiter, Renate Hinterschuster, Roman Follert, Derek Ives, Yves Jung, Florian Kerber, Barbara Klein, Jean-Louis Lizon, Thomas Marquart, Ignacio Molina-Conde, Luca Pasquini, Jérôme Paufique, Ernesto Oliva, Ansgar Reiners, Ulf Seemann, Jörg Stegmeier, Sebastien Tordo, and Elena Valenti "A unique infrared spectropolarimetric unit for CRIRES+", Proc. SPIE 10702, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VII, 1070234 (6 July 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313512
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
ORGANIZATIONAL
Sign in with credentials provided by your organization.
INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION
PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.
PERSONAL SIGN IN
No SPIE Account? Create one
PURCHASE THIS CONTENT
SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY
50 downloads per 1-year subscription
Members: $195
Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART
25 downloads per 1 - year subscription
Members: $145
Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART
PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE
Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available
Members: $17.00
Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART
PROCEEDINGS
 12 PAGES
DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY
GET CITATION
Advertisement
Advertisement
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission  Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace
KEYWORDS
Polarization
Sensors
Transmittance
Infrared radiation
Telescopes
Manufacturing
Stars
RELATED CONTENT
Subscribe to Digital Library
Receive Erratum Email Alert
Back to Top