paper

Science with a large field-of-view polarization survey: The Large Array Survey Telescope Polarization Node (LAST-P)

arXiv:2601.03921 · doi:10.1088/1538-3873/ae33f3

Abstract

Optical polarimetry provides information on the geometry of the emitting region, the magnetic field configuration and the properties of dust in astrophysical sources. Current state-of-the-art instruments typically have a small field of view (FoV), which poses a challenge for conducting wide surveys. We propose the construction of the Large Array Survey Telescope Polarization Node (LAST-P), a wide-field array of optical polarimeters. LAST-P is designed for high-cadence ( day) polarization monitoring of numerous astrophysical transients, such as the early phases of gamma-ray bursts, supernovae, and novae. Furthermore, LAST-P will facilitate the creation of extensive polarization catalogs for X-ray binaries and white dwarfs, alongside a large FoV study of the interstellar medium. In survey mode, LAST-P will cover a FoV of 88.8 deg. With a 15 x 1-minute exposure, the instrument will be capable of measuring polarization of sources as faint as Gaia Bp-magnitude 20.9. The precision on the linear polarization degree (PD) will reach 0.7\%, 1.5\%, and 3.5\% for sources with magnitudes 17, 18, and 19, respectively, for a seeing of 2.7 arcsec, air mass of about 1 for observations in dark locations. We propose three distinct non-simultaneous survey strategies, among them an active galactic nuclei (AGN) strategy for long-term monitoring of 200 AGN with 1-day cadence. In this paper, we present the predicted sensitivity of the instrument and outline the various science cases it is designed to explore.

Accepted for publication in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (PASP) on January 6, 2026. Corresponding authors: V. Barbosa Martins, N. Jordana Mitjans, S. Garrappa, A. Franckowiak, E. O. Ofek

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