Progress in modeling polarization optical components for the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope

The DKIST will have a suite of first-light polarimetric instrumentation requiring precise calibration of a complex articulated optical path. The optics are subject to large thermal loads caused by the ~300Watts of collected solar irradiance across the 5 arc minute field of view. The calibration process requires stable optics to generate known polarization states. We present modeling of several optical, thermal and mechanical effects of the calibration optics, the first transmissive optical elements in the light path, because they absorb substantial heat. Previous studies showed significant angle of incidence effects from the f/13 converging beam and the 5 arc minute field of view, but were only modeled at a single nominal temperature. New thermal and polarization modeling of these calibration retarders shows heating causes significant stability limitations both in time and with field caused by the bulk temperature rise along with depth and radial thermal gradients. Modeling efforts include varying coating and material absorption, Mueller matrix stability estimates and mitigation efforts.

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