8. Polarization Techniques

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the polarization techniques for polarization of light of astronomical objects. An analyzer is a device that subdivides the incident light into two beams, one of them linearly polarized in the plane parallel to the principal plane of the analyzer, the other in the perpendicular plane. If the accuracy of measurements is limited by the photon statistics, the amount of information on wavelength dependence of polarization obtained in a given time is proportional to the number of detectors used simultaneously for different spectral regions. A pair of retarders, one made of positive crystal and the other of negative crystal, with a properly chosen thickness ratio, makes a wide-field retarder for which the retardance is almost independent of the angle of incidence unless this angle is very large. It is observed that the depolarizing action of a Lyot depolarizer can be improved if the retardance not only depends on wavelength but also changes over the surface of the depolarizer. The optimum design of an astronomical polarimeter is also elaborated in the chapter.

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