We present the design and performance of RoboPol, a four-channel optical polarimeter operating at the Skinakas Observatory in Crete, Greece. RoboPol is capable of measuring both relative linear Stokes parameters q and u (and the total intensity I) in one sky exposure. Though primarily used to measure the polarization of point sources in the R band, the instrument features additional filters (B, V, and I), enabling multiwavelength imaging polarimetry over a large field of view (13.6 × 13.6). We demonstrate the accuracy and stability of the instrument throughout its 5 yr of operation. Best performance is achieved within the central region of the field of view and in the R band. For such measurements the systematic uncertainty is below 0.1 per cent in fractional linear polarization, p (0.05 per cent maximum likelihood). Throughout all observing seasons the instrumental polarization varies within 0.1 per cent in p and within ∼1◦ in polarization angle.
CITATION STYLE
Ramaprakash, A. N., Rajarshi, C. V., Das, H. K., Khodade, P., Modi, D., Panopoulou, G., … Zensus, J. A. (2019). RoboPol: A four-channel optical imaging polarimeter. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 485(2), 2355–2366. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz557
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