SIRPOL: a JHKs-simultaneous imaging polarimeter for the IRSF 1.4-m telescope

We describe a polarimeter for the near-infrared camera SIRIUS mounted on the IRSF 1.4 m telescope in South Africa. The polarimeter, SIRPOL, consists of an achromatic (1-2.5 μm) wave plate rotator unit and a polarizer located upstream of the camera, both of which are at a room temperature. This minimizes the effect of the mirrors in the camera on instrumental polarization. The combination of the polarimeter with the SIRIUS camera enables a deep (J = 19.2 mag, 5σ in one hour) and wide-field (7.7' × 7.7') imaging polarimetry at JHKs simultaneously. The three color near-infrared polarimetry is useful for understanding the properties of dust grains that cause scattering and absorption in various environments (e.g., star forming regions, late-type stars, and galaxies). Using IRSF and SIRPOL, wide-field near-infrared polarization surveys in various star-forming regions are being conducted, starting from 2006, which aim to study both reflection nebulae associated with young stars and interstellar polarizations of background stars. In this contribution, we describe the hardware and software of SIRPOL and report its first results on the telescope.