Related papers: Pollux test bench: from NUV to FUV polarimetric me…

Short-wavelength imaging, spectroscopy, and lithography scale down the characteristic length-scale to nano meters. This poses tight constraints on the optics finishing tolerances, which is often difficult to characterize. Indeed, even a…

WIRC+Pol is a newly commissioned low-resolution (R~100), near-infrared (J and H band) spectropolarimetry mode of the Wide-field InfraRed Camera (WIRC) on the 200-inch Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory. The instrument utilizes a novel…

We describe a novel multi-layered metal mesh achromatic half wave plate for use in astronomical polarimetric instruments. The half wave plate is designed to operate across the frequency range from 125-250 GHz. The wave plate is manufactured…

This paper describes the construction and performance of a VUV-simulator that has been designed to study degradation of materials under space conditions. It is part of the Complex Irradiation Facility at DLR in Bremen, Germany, that has…

We have built a polarimeter in order to measure the electron beam polarization in hall C at JLAB. Using a superconducting solenoid to drive the pure-iron target foil into saturation, and a symmetrical setup to detect the Moller electrons in…

A custom, flat field, extreme ultraviolet EUV spectrometer built specifically for use with low power light sources that operate under ultrahigh vacuum conditions is reported. The spectral range of the spectrometer extends from 4 nm to 40…

We devised and built a versatile facility for the calibration of the next generation X-ray polarimeters with unpolarized and polarized radiation. The former is produced at 5.9 keV by means of a Fe55 radioactive source or by X-ray tubes,…

Electronic systems are becoming more and more ubiquitous as our world digitises. Simultaneously, even basic components are experiencing a wave of improvements with new transistors, memristors, voltage/current references, data converters,…

The Large Ultraviolet / Optical / Infrared Surveyor (LUVOIR) is one of four large mission concepts currently undergoing community study for consideration by the 2020 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey. The LUVOIR Ultraviolet…

We describe a new instrument capable of high precision ($10^{-5}$) polarimetric observations simultaneously in three passbands ($BVR$). The instrument utilizes electron-multiplied EM CCD cameras for high efficiency and fast image readout.…

We have built and tested a compact, low-cost, but very-high-performance astronomical polarimeter based on a continuously rotating half-wave plate and a high-speed imaging detector. The polarimeter is suitable for small telescopes up to ~1 m…

High-resolution extreme ultraviolet (XUV) imaging remains limited by conventional approaches that require complex optics such as multilayer mirrors and zone plates. These methods are expensive, suffer from chromatic aberrations and narrow…

Polarization modulation is a powerful technique to increase the stability of measurements by enabling the distinction of a polarized signal from dominant slow system drifts and unpolarized foregrounds. Furthermore, when placed as close to…

A new astronomical photo-polarimeter that can measure linear polarization of point sources simultaneously in three spectral bands was designed and built in Indian Institute of Astrophysics. The polarimeter has a Calcite beam-displacement…

Vacuum magnetic birefringence was predicted long time ago and is still lacking a direct experimental confirmation. Several experimental efforts are striving to reach this goal, and the sequence of results promises a success in the next few…

In this paper, we present the infrared coronagraphic test bench of the University of Li\`ege named VODCA (Vortex Optical Demonstrator for Coronagraphic Applications). The goal of the bench is to assess the performances of the Annular Groove…

Many open questions remain about massive stars, for example about their evolution, their wind, and their maximum mass at formation. These issues could be ideally adressed by the Pollux UV spectropolarimeter onboard LUVOIR. Here we present…

Tunable polarization over a wide spectral range is a required feature of light sources employed to investigate the properties of local symmetry in both condensed and low-density matter. Among new-generation sources, free-electron lasers…

POLAR is a compact space-borne detector designed to perform reliable measurements of the polarization for transient sources like Gamma-Ray Bursts in the energy range 50-500keV. The instrument works based on the Compton Scattering principle…

High resolution, ultraviolet imaging is often unavailable across the sky, even in heavily studied fields such as the Chandra Deep Field - South. The Habitable Worlds Observatory is one of two upcoming missions with the possibility of…