4 research outputs found
Analysis of polarization introduced due to the telescope optics of the Thirty Meter Telescope
An analytical model has been developed to estimate the polarization effects, such as instrumental polarization (IP), crosstalk (CT), and depolarization, due to the optics of the Thirty Meter Telescope. These are estimated for the unvignetted field-of-view and the wavelengths of interest. The model estimates an IP of 1.26% and a CT of 44% at the Nasmyth focus of the telescope at the wavelength of 0.6 μm at field angle zero with the telescope pointing to zenith. Mueller matrices have been estimated for the primary, secondary, and Nasmyth mirrors. It is found that some of the Mueller matrix elements of the primary and secondary mirrors show a fourfold azimuthal antisymmetry, which indicates that the polarization at the Cassegrain focus is negligible. At the inclined Nasmyth mirror, there is no azimuthal antisymmetry in the matrix elements, and this results in nonzero values for IP and CT, which would negatively impact the polarization measurements at the telescope focus. The averaged Mueller matrix is estimated at the Nasmyth focus at different instrument ports and various zenith angles of the telescope. The variation in the Mueller matrix elements for different coatings is also estimated. The impact of this polarization effect on the science case requirements has been discussed. This analysis will help in achieving precise requirements for future instruments with polarimetric capability
Solar flare catalog from 3 years of Chandrayaan-2 XSM observations
We present a catalog of 6266 solar flares detected by the X-Ray Solar Monitor
onboard the Chandrayaan-2 lunar orbiter between 1.55 and 12.4 keV (1 and 8 \AA)
from 2019 September 12 to 2022 November 4, including 1469 type A flares. The
catalog represents the first large sample, including both type A, hot thermal
flares, and type B, impulsive flares, with a sub-A class sensitive instrument.
We also detect 213 sub-A and 1330 A class flares. Individual flares are fit
with an exponentially-modified Gaussian function and multi-flare groups are
decomposed into individual flares. We validate our findings with flare catalogs
made using visual inspection as well as automatic pipelines on Geostationary
Operational Environmental Satellite and Solar Dynamics Observatory data. We
find a clear bimodality in the ratio of the width to decay time between type A
and B flares. We infer a power-law index of for the
background-subtracted peak flux distribution of XSM flares, which is consistent
with the value reported in the literature. We also infer for type B, and for type A flares,
which has previously not been reported in the literature. These comparable
values hint at a similarity in their generative processes.Comment: 29 pages, 15 figures, 5 table
Analysis of polarization introduced due to the telescope optics of the Thirty Meter Telescope
An analytical model has been developed to estimate the polarization effects, such as instrumental polarization (IP), crosstalk (CT), and depolarization, due to the optics of the Thirty Meter Telescope. These are estimated for the unvignetted field-of-view and the wavelengths of interest. The model estimates an IP of 1.26% and a CT of 44% at the Nasmyth focus of the telescope at the wavelength of 0.6 μm at field angle zero with the telescope pointing to zenith. Mueller matrices have been estimated for the primary, secondary, and Nasmyth mirrors. It is found that some of the Mueller matrix elements of the primary and secondary mirrors show a fourfold azimuthal antisymmetry, which indicates that the polarization at the Cassegrain focus is negligible. At the inclined Nasmyth mirror, there is no azimuthal antisymmetry in the matrix elements, and this results in nonzero values for IP and CT, which would negatively impact the polarization measurements at the telescope focus. The averaged Mueller matrix is estimated at the Nasmyth focus at different instrument ports and various zenith angles of the telescope. The variation in the Mueller matrix elements for different coatings is also estimated. The impact of this polarization effect on the science case requirements has been discussed. This analysis will help in achieving precise requirements for future instruments with polarimetric capability
In-orbit Performance of UVIT on ASTROSAT
We present the in-orbit performance and the first results from the
ultra-violet Imaging telescope (UVIT) on ASTROSAT. UVIT consists of two
identical 38cm coaligned telescopes, one for the FUV channel (130-180nm) and
the other for the NUV (200-300nm) and VIS (320-550nm) channels, with a field of
view of 28 . The FUV and the NUV detectors are operated in the high
gain photon counting mode whereas the VIS detector is operated in the low gain
integration mode. The FUV and NUV channels have filters and gratings, whereas
the VIS channel has filters. The ASTROSAT was launched on 28th September 2015.
The performance verification of UVIT was carried out after the opening of the
UVIT doors on 30th November 2015, till the end of March 2016 within the
allotted time of 50 days for calibration. All the on-board systems were found
to be working satisfactorily. During the PV phase, the UVIT observed several
calibration sources to characterise the instrument and a few objects to
demonstrate the capability of the UVIT. The resolution of the UVIT was found to
be about 1.4 - 1.7 in the FUV and NUV. The sensitivity in various
filters were calibrated using standard stars (white dwarfs), to estimate the
zero-point magnitudes as well as the flux conversion factor. The gratings were
also calibrated to estimate their resolution as well as effective area. The
sensitivity of the filters were found to be reduced up to 15\% with respect to
the ground calibrations. The sensitivity variation is monitored on a monthly
basis. UVIT is all set to roll out science results with its imaging capability
with good resolution and large field of view, capability to sample the UV
spectral region using different filters and capability to perform variability
studies in the UV.Comment: 10 pages, To appear in SPIE conference proceedings, SPIE conference
paper, 201