TY - GEN
T1 - Polarimetric modeling and assessment of science cases for Giant Magellan Telescope-Polarimeter (GMT-Pol)
AU - GMT-Pol team
AU - Anche, Ramya M.
AU - Williams, Grant
AU - Tailor, Hill
AU - Packham, Chris
AU - Kim, Daewook
AU - Ashcraft, Jaren N.
AU - Douglas, Ewan S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 SPIE.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Polarization observations through the next-generation large telescopes will be invaluable for exploring the magnetic fields and composition of jets in AGN, multi-messenger transients follow-up, and understanding interstellar dust and magnetic fields. The 25m Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) is one of the next-generation large telescopes and is expected to have its first light in 2029. The telescope consists of a primary mirror and an adaptive secondary mirror comprising seven circular segments. The telescope supports instruments at both Nasmyth as well as Gregorian focus. However, none of the first or second-generation instruments on GMT has the polarimetric capability. This paper presents a detailed polarimetric modeling of the GMT for both Gregorian and folded ports for astronomical B-K filter bands and a field of view of 5 arc minutes. At 500nm, The instrumental polarization is 0.1% and 3% for the Gregorian and folded port, respectively. The linear to circular crosstalk is 0.1% and 30% for the Gregorian and folded ports, respectively. The Gregorian focus gives the GMT a significant competitive advantage over TMT and ELT for sensitive polarimetry, as these telescopes support instruments only on the Nasmyth platform. We also discuss a list of polarimetric science cases and assess science case requirements vs. the modeling results. Finally, we discuss the possible routes for polarimetry with GMT and show the preliminary optical design of the GMT polarimeter.
AB - Polarization observations through the next-generation large telescopes will be invaluable for exploring the magnetic fields and composition of jets in AGN, multi-messenger transients follow-up, and understanding interstellar dust and magnetic fields. The 25m Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) is one of the next-generation large telescopes and is expected to have its first light in 2029. The telescope consists of a primary mirror and an adaptive secondary mirror comprising seven circular segments. The telescope supports instruments at both Nasmyth as well as Gregorian focus. However, none of the first or second-generation instruments on GMT has the polarimetric capability. This paper presents a detailed polarimetric modeling of the GMT for both Gregorian and folded ports for astronomical B-K filter bands and a field of view of 5 arc minutes. At 500nm, The instrumental polarization is 0.1% and 3% for the Gregorian and folded port, respectively. The linear to circular crosstalk is 0.1% and 30% for the Gregorian and folded ports, respectively. The Gregorian focus gives the GMT a significant competitive advantage over TMT and ELT for sensitive polarimetry, as these telescopes support instruments only on the Nasmyth platform. We also discuss a list of polarimetric science cases and assess science case requirements vs. the modeling results. Finally, we discuss the possible routes for polarimetry with GMT and show the preliminary optical design of the GMT polarimeter.
KW - Astronomical polarimetry
KW - Giant Magellan Telescope
KW - Instrumental polarization
KW - Polarization calibration
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U2 - 10.1117/12.2676777
DO - 10.1117/12.2676777
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85172162776
T3 - Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
BT - Polarization Science and Remote Sensing XI
A2 - Kupinski, Meredith K.
A2 - Shaw, Joseph A.
A2 - Snik, Frans
PB - SPIE
T2 - Polarization Science and Remote Sensing XI 2023
Y2 - 21 August 2023 through 22 August 2023
ER -