The upgrade of HARPS to a full-Stokes high-resolution spectropolarimeter

Frans Snik; Sandra Jeffers; Christoph Keller; Nikolai Piskunov; Oleg Kochukhov; Jeff Valenti; Christopher Johns-Krull

doi:10.1117/12.787393

9 July 2008 The upgrade of HARPS to a full-Stokes high-resolution spectropolarimeter

Frans Snik, Sandra Jeffers, Christoph Keller, Nikolai Piskunov, Oleg Kochukhov, Jeff Valenti, Christopher Johns-Krull

Proceedings Volume 7014, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy II; 70140O (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.787393
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2008, Marseille, France

Abstract

We present the design of a compact module that converts the HARPS instrument at the 3.6-m telescope at La Silla to a full-Stokes high-resolution spectropolarimeter. The polarimeter will replace the obsolete Iodine cell inside the HARPS Cassegrain adapter. Utilizing the two fibers going into the spectrograph, two dual-beam systems can be positioned in the beam: one with a rotating superachromatic quarter-wave plate for circular polarimetry and one with a rotating superachromatic half-wave plate for linear polarimetry. A large polarimetric precision is ensured by the beam-exchange technique and a minimal amount of instrumental polarization. The polarimeter, in combination with the ultra-precise HARPS spectrograph, enables unprecedented observations of stellar magnetic fields and circumstellar material without compromising the successful planet-finding program.

Citation Download Citation

Frans Snik, Sandra Jeffers, Christoph Keller, Nikolai Piskunov, Oleg Kochukhov, Jeff Valenti, and Christopher Johns-Krull "The upgrade of HARPS to a full-Stokes high-resolution spectropolarimeter", Proc. SPIE 7014, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy II, 70140O (9 July 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.787393

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