Data Reduction Approach for the Extreme Polarimeter

Abstract

ExPo (Extreme Polarimeter) is an imaging polarimeter that we are building at Utrecht University, The Netherlands. It will detect polarized light from circumstellar disks and extrasolar planets, initially at the 4.2 m WHT and later at other telescopes. We have developed a data reduction approach that minimizes the influence of instrumental and atmospherical effects by using a partially transmitting coronagraph focal-plane mask. The approach has been tested with a laboratory simulator and an ExPo prototype.

Publication
Astronomical Polarimetry 2008: Science from Small to Large Telescopes

Related