A WIDE-ANGLE STOKES POLARIMETER FOR THE BOOTES GLOBAL TELESCOPE NETWORK. OPTICAL AND MECHANICAL DESIGN

Abstract

We describe the imaging polarimeter EDIPO (Efficient & Dedicated wide-field Imaging Polarimeter) as a part of astronomical telescopes of the BOOTES (Burst Observer and Optical Transient Exploring System) network that is intended for the study of polarization features of the rapid processes of the gamma-ray bursts afterglow (Gamma-ray burst — GRB). The design of the polarimeter allows one to be installed on the network telescopes with a diameter of the main mirror up to 1.4 m. The EDIPO is designed to analyze the polarization parameters of linearly polarized light in the spectral range of 450—1000 nm. The polarization analyzer of the polarimeter does not contain moving elements and allows measurements of Stokes parameters I, Q, U of light in a 30'× 30' field of view simultaneously for one spectral band of the working spectral range. The optical part of the polarimeter was assembled and tested on a telescope with a mirror diameter of 1.2 m. The calibration approaches for the polarimeter-telescope system are considered.