A submillimetre imaging polarimeter at the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

Greaves, J.S.; Holland, W.S.; Jenness, T.; Chrysostomou, A.; Berry, D.S.; Tamura, M.; Robson, E.I.; Ade, P.A.R.; Nartallo, R.; Stevens, J. A.; Morino, J.; Moriarty-Schieven, G.; Gannaway, F.; Haynes, C.V.

View/Open

101397.pdf (PDF, 322Kb)

Author

Greaves, J.S.

Holland, W.S.

Jenness, T.

Chrysostomou, A.

Berry, D.S.

Tamura, M.

Robson, E.I.

Ade, P.A.R.

Nartallo, R.

Stevens, J. A.

Morino, J.

Moriarty-Schieven, G.

Gannaway, F.

Haynes, C.V.

Abstract

A polarimeter has been built for use with the Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array (SCUBA), on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) in Hawaii. SCUBA is the first of a new generation of highly sensitive submillimetre cameras, and the UK/Japan Polarimeter adds a polarimetric imaging/photometry capability in the wavelength range 350 to 2000 μm. Early science results range from measuring the synchrotron polarization of the black hole candidate Sgr A* to mappingmagnetic fields inferred frompolarized dust emission in Galactic star-forming clouds. We describe the instrument design, performance, observing techniques and data reduction processes, along with an assessment of the current and future scientific capability.