Simulation and optimization of a broadband reflective far ultraviolet polarimeter.

Traditional transmissive polarimetric methods can be used for wavelengths above 123 nm where birefringent materials transmit light and create significant birefringence. Below 123 nm, no suitable solution is known to measure the four Stokes parameters on a large wavelength range. Therefore, we study here an innovative reflective (rather than transmissive) polarimeter working in the far ultraviolet (FUV) range from 90 to 130 nm. We take advantage of the phase shift created by reflections as well as the different reflectivities for p (orthogonal ⊥) and s (parallel ∥ to the plane of incidence) polarizations to design an FUV polarimeter. Simulation of the analyzer and modulator using Mueller matrices coupled to polarimetric efficiencies calculations allowed optimization of reflective polarimeters for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. This opens up a new perspective for FUV polarimetry below 123 nm.

Static spectropolarimeter concept adapted to space conditions and wide spectrum constraints.

Issues related to moving elements in space and instruments working in broader wavelength ranges lead to the need for robust polarimeters that are efficient on a wide spectral domain and adaptable to space conditions. As part of the UVMag consortium, which was created to develop spectropolarimetric UV facilities in space, such as the Arago mission project, we present an innovative concept of static spectropolarimetry. We studied a static and polychromatic method for spectropolarimetry, which is applicable to stellar physics. Instead of temporally modulating the polarization information, as is usually done in spectropolarimeters, the modulation is performed in a spatial direction, orthogonal to the spectral one. Thanks to the proportionality between phase retardance imposed by a birefringent material and its thickness, birefringent wedges can be used to create this spatial modulation. The light is then spectrally cross dispersed, and a full Stokes determination of the polarization over the whole spectrum can be obtained with a single-shot measurement. The use of magnesium fluoride wedges, for example, could lead to a compact, static polarimeter working at wavelengths from 0.115 up to 7 µm. We present the theory and simulations of this concept as well as laboratory validation and a practical application to Arago.

CoRoT measures solar-like oscillations and granulation in stars hotter than the Sun.

Oscillations of the Sun have been used to understand its interior structure. The extension of similar studies to more distant stars has raised many difficulties despite the strong efforts of the international community over the past decades. The CoRoT (Convection Rotation and Planetary Transits) satellite, launched in December 2006, has now measured oscillations and the stellar granulation signature in three main sequence stars that are noticeably hotter than the sun. The oscillation amplitudes are about 1.5 times as large as those in the Sun; the stellar granulation is up to three times as high. The stellar amplitudes are about 25% below the theoretic values, providing a measurement of the nonadiabaticity of the process ruling the oscillations in the outer layers of the stars.