Commissioning of an Integral-Field Spectro-Polarimeter for PMAS

摘要

During 2007, a new polarimetric observing mode was added to the existing integral-field spectrograph PMAS. Initially, this instrumental upgrade is aimed to measure the linear polarization states and to determine the three Stokes parameters I, Q and U. The PMAS instrument offers an integral-field of view of up to 256 square arcseconds, while the spectrograph covers a wavelength region from 340 to 900 nm. The paper presents the opto-mechanical design of the polarimetric unit, summarizes calibration and test results and describes the first data taken during commissioning at the Calar Alto observatory. Given the range of applications and the large parameter space (two spatial coordinates, one wavelength dimension, plus polarimetric information), the realization of the PMAS 2D-Spectro-Polarimeter provides a unique capability for night-time astrophysical observations, such as the study of scattering processes or magnetic fields for a range of astronomical targets.