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Imaging Spectropolarimeter for the Multi-Application Solar Telescope at Udaipur Solar Observatory: Characterization of Polarimeter and Preliminary Observations

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Abstract

The Multi-Application Solar Telescope (MAST) is a 50 cm off-axis Gregorian telescope that has recently become operational at the Udaipur Solar Observatory (USO). An imaging spectropolarimeter is being developed as one of the back-end instruments of MAST to gain a better understanding of the evolution and dynamics of solar magnetic and velocity fields. This system consists of a narrow-band filter and a polarimeter. The polarimeter includes a linear polarizer and two sets of liquid crystal variable retarders (LCVRs). The instrument is intended for simultaneous observations in the spectral lines 6173 Å and 8542 Å, which are formed in the photosphere and chromosphere, respectively. In this article, we present results from the characterization of the LCVRs for the spectral lines of interest and the response matrix of the polarimeter. We also present preliminary observations of an active region obtained using the spectropolarimeter. For verification purposes, we compare the Stokes observations of the active region obtained from the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) with that of MAST observations in the spectral line 6173 Å. We find good agreement between the two observations, considering the fact that MAST observations are limited by seeing.

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Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank the referee for valuable comments that helped us to improve the content in the manuscript. The HMI data used here are courtesy of NASA/SDO and the HMI science team. We thank the HMI science team for making available the processed data of \(I-V\) (LCP) and \(I+V\) (RCP) for our comparative study. We also acknowledge the work of Mukesh M. Sardava of USO in the design and fabrication of the mount for the LCVRs and polarizers.

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  1. Udaipur Solar Observatory, Physical Research Laboratory, Udaipur, Rajasthan, 313001, India

    Alok Ranjan Tiwary, Shibu K. Mathew, A. Raja Bayanna, P. Venkatakrishnan & Rahul Yadav

  2. Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, 382424, Gujarat, India

    Alok Ranjan Tiwary

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  1. Alok Ranjan Tiwary
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Tiwary, A.R., Mathew, S.K., Bayanna, A.R. et al. Imaging Spectropolarimeter for the Multi-Application Solar Telescope at Udaipur Solar Observatory: Characterization of Polarimeter and Preliminary Observations. Sol Phys 292, 49 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-017-1076-5

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