A Submillimetre Imaging Polarimeter at the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

astro-ph

/ Authors

J. S. Greaves, W. S. Holland, T. Jenness, A. Chrysostomou, D. S. Berry, A. G. Murray, M. Tamura, E. I. Robson, P. A. R. Ade, R. Nartallo

and 6 more authors

J. A. Stevens, M. Momose, J. -I. Morino, G. Moriarty-Schieven, F. Gannaway, C. V. Haynes

/ 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 microns. Early science results range from measuring the synchrotron polarization of the black hole candidate Sgr A* to mapping magnetic fields inferred from polarized 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.