Related papers: Solar Research Programs at IRSOL, Switzerland

The history of the IRSOL observatory is closely related to Second Solar Spectrum observations. Already in 1963 Brueckner observed scattering polarization in the CaI 4227A line. In 1996 the Hanle effect in the quiet chromosphere was measured…

A large set of high precision full-Stokes spectropolarimetric observations of the He-D3 line in spicules has been recorded with the ZIMPOL polarimeter at the Gregory-Coude Telescope in Locarno. The observational technique allow us to obtain…

We show a selection of high-sensitivity spectropolarimetric observations obtained over the last few years in the Ba II D2-line with the Zurich Imaging Polarimeter (ZIMPOL) attached to the Gregory Coude Telescope of IRSOL. The measurements…

We describe the Zurich Imaging Polarimeter (ZIMPOL), the visual focal plane subsystem of the SPHERE "VLT planet finder", which pushes the limits of current AO systems to shorter wavelengths, higher spatial resolution, and much improved…

We present novel spectropolarimetric observations of the hydrogen H$\alpha$ line taken with the Z\"urich Imaging Polarimeter (ZIMPOL) at the Gregory Coud\'e Telescope of the Istituto Ricerche Solari Locarno (IRSOL). The linear polarization…

RefPlanets is a guaranteed time observation (GTO) programme that uses the Zurich IMaging POLarimeter (ZIMPOL) of SPHERE/VLT for a blind search for exoplanets in wavelengths from 600-900 nm. The goals of this study are the characterization…

A large set of high precision full-Stokes spectropolarimetric observations of prominences in He-D3, Halpha and Hbeta lines has been recorded with the ZIMPOL polarimeter at the Gregory-Coude Telescope in Locarno. The observational technique…

Taking advantage of the advances in array detector technology, an imaging polarimeter (IMPOL) has been constructed for measuring linear polarization in the wavelength band from 400-800 nm. It makes use of a Wollaston prism as the analyser…

The topic of magnetic field diagnostics with the Zeeman effect is currently vividly discussed. There are some testable inversion codes available to the spectropolarimetry community and their application allowed for a better understanding of…

Aims: We aim to achieve high spatial resolution as well as high polarimetric sensitivity, using an earth-based 1m-class solar telescope, for the study of magnetic fine structure on the Sun. Methods: We use a setup with 3 high-speed,…

Here we report on the first observational investigation of the Zeeman effect in the G band around 4305 A. Our spectropolarimetric observations of sunspots with the Zurich Imaging Polarimeter at the IRSOL facility confirm our previous…

Observations of scattering polarization and the Hanle effect in various spectral lines are increasingly used to complement traditional solar magnetic field determination techniques. One of the strongest scattering polarization signals in…

The solar surface magnetic field is connected with and even controls most of the solar activity phenomena. Zeeman effect diagnostics allow for measuring only a small fraction of the fractal-like structured magnetic field. The remaining…

A big challenge in solar and stellar physics in the coming years will be to decipher the magnetism of the solar outer atmosphere (chromosphere and corona) along with its dynamic coupling with the magnetic fields of the underlying…

We present a new approach for correcting instrumental polarization by modeling the non-depolarizing effects of a complex series of optical elements to determine physically realizable Mueller matrices. Provided that the Mueller matrix of the…

We summarize in this paper the spectro-polarimetric methods used at the Pic du Midi Turret Dome in spectroscopic or imagery mode. The polarimeters and spectrograph allow the cartography of solar magnetic fields at high spatial resolution…

The Vector Spectromagnetograph (VSM) instrument on the Synoptic Optical Long-term Investigations of the Sun (SOLIS) telescope is designed to obtain high-quality magnetic field observations in both the photosphere and chromosphere by…

We designed and built a new Four-Stokes-Parameter spectral line Polarimeter (FSPPol) for the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO). The simple design of FSPPol does not include any mirrors or optical components to redirect or re-image the…

XPOL, the first correlation polarimeter at a large millimeter telescope, uses a flexible digital correlator to measure all four Stokes parameters simultaneously, i.e. the total power I, the linear polarization components Q and U, and the…

In the last decade or so, metasurface optical components have received considerable scientific and industrial interest for a variety of applications. The miniaturization afforded by metasurfaces could benefit astronomy in particular (which…