The Visible Spectro-Polarimeter of the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope

Abstract

The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) Visible Spectro-Polarimeter (ViSP) is a traditional slit-scanning spectrograph, with the ability to observe solar regions up to a $120\times 78{\mathrm{arcsec}}^2$ area. The design implements dual-beam polarimetry, a polychromatic polarization modulator, a high-dispersion echelle grating, and three spectral channels that can be automatically positioned. A defining feature of the instrument is its capability to tune anywhere within the 380-900~nm range of the solar spectrum, allowing for a virtually infinite number of combinations of three wavelengths to be observed simultaneously. This enables the ViSP user to pursue well-established spectro-polarimetric studies of the magnetic structure and plasma dynamics of the solar atmosphere, as well as completely novel investigations of the solar spectrum. Within the suite of first-generation instruments at the DKIST, ViSP is the only wavelength-versatile spectro-polarimeter available to the scientific community. It was specifically designed to be a discovery instrument, for the exploration of new spectroscopic and polarimetric diagnostics, and to test improved models of polarized line formation, through high spatial-, spectral-, and temporal-resolution observations of the Sun's polarized spectrum. In this instrument article, we describe the science requirements and design drivers of ViSP, and we present preliminary science data collected during the commissioning of the instrument.

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Cited by in corpus (17)

• The Atmospheric Response to High Nonthermal Electron Beam Fluxes in Solar Flares. II. Hydrogen Broadening Predictions for Solar Flare Observations with the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope
• A novel inversion method to determine the coronal magnetic field including the impact of bound-free absorption
• First Observation of Chromospheric Waves in a Sunspot by DKIST/ViSP: The Anatomy of an Umbral Flash
• Formation of H$\epsilon$ in the solar atmosphere
• Optimal spectral lines for measuring chromospheric magnetic fields
• Spectropolarimetric Inversion in Four Dimensions with Deep Learning (SPIn4D): I. Overview, Magnetohydrodynamic Modeling, and Stokes Profile Synthesis
• A study of the capabilities for inferring atmospheric information from high-spatial-resolution simulations
• Magnetic diffusion in Solar atmosphere produces measurable electric fields
• Spectral resolution effects on the information content in solar spectra
• On the intermittency of hot plasma loops in the solar corona
• Multi-wavelength spectropolarimetric observations of AR13724 performed by GRIS
• The magnetic sensitivity of the Ca II resonance and subordinate lines in the solar atmosphere
• DKIST resolves sub-arcsec photospheric scattering polarization
• Three-dimensional non-LTE radiative transfer effects in Fe I lines IV. Line formation at high spatial resolution
• Image instabilities and polarization cross-talk
• The magnetic sensitivity of the Ca II H and K lines
• Observational insights into Sr I 4607 Å scattering polarization with DKIST/ViSP