Gerard van Harten

Mapping atmospheric aerosols with a citizen science network of smartphone spectropolarimeters

To assess the impact of atmospheric aerosols on health, climate, and air traffic, aerosol properties must be measured with fine spatial and temporal sampling. This can be achieved by actively involving citizens and the technology they own to form an atmospheric measurement network. We establish this new measurement strategy by developing and deploying iSPEX, a low-cost, mass-producible optical add-on for smartphones with a corresponding app. The aerosol optical thickness (AOT) maps derived from iSPEX spectropolarimetric measurements of the daytime cloud-free sky by thousands of citizen scientists throughout the Netherlands are in good agreement with the spatial AOT structure derived from satellite imagery and temporal AOT variations derived from ground-based precision photometry. These maps show structures at scales of kilometers that are typical for urban air pollution, indicating the potential of iSPEX to provide information about aerosol properties at locations and at times that are not covered by current monitoring efforts.

Prototyping for the Spectropolarimeter for Planetary EXploration (SPEX): calibration and sky measurements

We present the Spectropolarimeter for Planetary EXploration (SPEX), a high-accuracy linear spectropolarimeter measuring from 400 to 800 nm (with 2 nm intensity resolution), that is compact (~ 1 liter), robust and lightweight. This is achieved by employing the unconventional spectral polarization modulation technique, optimized for linear polarimetry. The polarization modulator consists of an achromatic quarter-wave retarder and a multiple-order retarder, followed by a polarizing beamsplitter, such that the incoming polarization state is encoded as a sinusoidal modulation in the intensity spectrum, where the amplitude scales with the degree of linear polarization, and the phase is determined by the angle of linear polarization. An optimized combination of birefringent crystals creates an athermal multiple-order retarder, with a uniform retardance across the field of view. Based on these specifications, SPEX is an ideal, passive remote sensing instrument for characterizing planetary atmospheres from an orbiting, air-borne or ground-based platform. By measuring the intensity and polarization spectra of sunlight that is scattered in the planetary atmosphere as a function of the single scattering angle, aerosol microphysical properties (size, shape, composition), vertical distribution and optical thickness can be derived. Such information is essential to fully understand the climate of a planet. A functional SPEX prototype has been developed and calibrated, showing excellent agreement with end-to-end performance simulations. Calibration tests show that the precision of the polarization measurements is at least 2 • 10-4. We performed multi-angle spectropolarimetric measurements of the Earths atmosphere from the ground in conjunction with one of AERONETs sun photometers. Several applications exist for SPEX throughout the solar system, a.o. in orbit around Mars, Jupiter and the Earth, and SPEX can also be part of a ground-based aerosol monitoring network.

SPEX: the spectropolarimeter for planetary exploration

SPEX (Spectropolarimeter for Planetary EXploration) is an innovative, compact instrument for spectropolarimetry, and in particular for detecting and characterizing aerosols in planetary atmospheres. With its ~1-liter volume it is capable of full linear spectropolarimetry, without moving parts. The degree and angle of linear polarization of the incoming light is encoded in a sinusoidal modulation of the intensity spectrum by an achromatic quarter-wave retarder, an athermal multiple-order retarder and a polarizing beam-splitter in the entrance pupil. A single intensity spectrum thus provides the spectral dependence of the degree and angle of linear polarization. Polarimetry has proven to be an excellent tool to study microphysical properties (size, shape, composition) of atmospheric particles. Such information is essential to better understand the weather and climate of a planet. The current design of SPEX is tailored to study Martian dust and ice clouds from an orbiting platform: a compact module with 9 entrance pupils to simultaneously measure intensity spectra from 400 to 800 nm, in different directions along the flight direction (including two limb viewing directions). This way, both the intensity and polarization scattering phase functions of dust and cloud particles within a ground pixel are sampled while flying over it. We describe the optical and mechanical design of SPEX, and present performance simulations and initial breadboard measurements. Several flight opportunities exist for SPEX throughout the solar system: in orbit around Mars, Jupiter and its moons, Saturn and Titan, and the Earth.

Spectral line polarimetry with a channeled polarimeter

Channeled spectropolarimetry or spectral polarization modulation is an accurate technique for measuring the continuum polarization in one shot with no moving parts. We show how a dual-beam implementation also enables spectral line polarimetry at the intrinsic resolution, as in a classic beam-splitting polarimeter. Recording redundant polarization information in the two spectrally modulated beams of a polarizing beam-splitter even provides the possibility to perform a postfacto differential transmission correction that improves the accuracy of the spectral line polarimetry. We perform an error analysis to compare the accuracy of spectral line polarimetry to continuum polarimetry, degraded by a residual dark signal and differential transmission, as well as to quantify the impact of the transmission correction. We demonstrate the new techniques with a blue sky polarization measurement around the oxygen A absorption band using the groundSPEX instrument, yielding a polarization in the deepest part of the band of 0.160±0.010, significantly different from the polarization in the continuum of 0.2284±0.0004. The presented methods are applicable to any dual-beam channeled polarimeter, including implementations for snapshot imaging polarimetry.

Accurate spectrally modulating polarimeters for atmospheric aerosol characterization

Highly accurate multi-angle polarimeters are essential for taking the next step in global characterization of atmospheric aerosol. Spectral polarization modulation enables highly accurate snapshot polarimetry and is very suitable for ground-, air- and space-based instrumentation. In this paper we present two instruments that employ this technology, the SPEX prototype and groundSPEX. We have performed ground-based measurements at the CESAR Observatory in the Netherlands with these two instruments. We compare the measured degree of linear polarization of co-located measurements, which show an rms difference of 0.005. Aerosol microphysical properties that have been retrieved from these measurements agree well with similar retrievals from AERONET measurements. Finally, we discuss the current efforts to upgrade the SPEX prototype to an autonomous instrument suitable for flying on NASA’s ER-2 high altitude aircraft.

UVMag: Space UV and visible spectropolarimetry

UVMag is a project of a space mission equipped with a high-resolution spectropolarimeter working in the UV and visible range. This M-size mission will be proposed to ESA at its M4 call. The main goal of UVMag is to measure the magnetic fields, winds and environment of all types of stars to reach a better understanding of stellar formation and evolution and of the impact of stellar environment on the surrounding planets. The groundbreaking combination of UV and visible spectropolarimetric observations will allow the scientists to study the stellar surface and its environment simultaneously. The instrumental challenge for this mission is to design a high-resolution space spectropolarimeter measuring the full- Stokes vector of the observed star in a huge spectral domain from 117 nm to 870 nm. This spectral range is the main difficulty because of the dispersion of the optical elements and of birefringence issues in the FUV. As the instrument will be launched into space, the polarimetric module has to be robust and therefore use if possible only static elements. This article presents the different design possibilities for the polarimeter at this point of the project.

Spectropolarimeter for planetary exploration (SPEX) : Performance measurements with a prototype

SPEX (Spectropolarimeter for Planetary Exploration) was developed in close cooperation between scientific institutes and space technological industries in the Netherlands. It is used for measuring microphysical properties of aerosols and cloud particles in planetary atmospheres. SPEX utilizes a number of novel ideas. The key feature is that full linear spectropolarimetry can be performed without the use of moving parts, using an instrument of approximately 1 liter in volume. This is done by encoding the degree and angle of linear polarization (DoLP and AoLP) of the incoming light in a sinusoidal modulation of the intensity spectrum. Based on this principle, and after gaining experience from breadboard measurements using the same principle, a fully functional prototype was constructed. The functionality and the performance of the prototype were shown by extensive testing. The simulated results and the laboratory measurements show striking agreement. SPEX would be a valuable addition to any mission that aims to study the composition and structure of planetary atmospheres, for example, missions to Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Titan. In addition, on an Earth-orbiting satellite, SPEX could give unique information on particles in our own atmosphere.

Polarization modeling and predictions for DKIST part 2: application of the Berreman calculus to spectral polarization fringes of beamsplitters and crystal retarders

Abstract. We outline polarization fringe predictions derived from an application of the Berreman calculus for the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) retarder optics. The DKIST retarder baseline design used six crystals, single-layer antireflection coatings, thick cover windows, and oil between all optical interfaces. This tool estimates polarization fringes and optic Mueller matrices as functions of all optical design choices. The amplitude and period of polarized fringes under design changes, manufacturing errors, tolerances, and several physical factors can now be estimated. This tool compares well with observations of fringes for data collected with the spectropolarimeter for infrared and optical regions at the Dunn Solar Telescope using bicrystalline achromatic retarders as well as laboratory tests. With this tool, we show impacts of design decisions on polarization fringes as impacted by antireflection coatings, oil refractive indices, cover window presence, and part thicknesses. This tool helped DKIST decide to remove retarder cover windows and also recommends reconsideration of coating strategies for DKIST. We anticipate this tool to be essential in designing future retarders for mitigation of polarization and intensity fringe errors in other high spectral resolution astronomical systems.

Preliminary design of the full-Stokes UV and visible spectropolarimeter for UVMag/Arago

The UVMag consortium proposed the space mission project Arago to ESA at its M4 call. It is dedicated to the study of the dynamic 3D environment of stars and planets. This space mission will be equipped with a high-resolution spectropolarimeter working from 119 to 888 nm. A preliminary optical design of the whole instrument has been prepared and is presented here. The design consists of the telescope, the instrument itself, and the focusing optics. Considering not only the scientific requirements, but also the cost and size constraints to fit a M-size mission, the telescope has a 1.3 m diameter primary mirror and is a classical Cassegrain-type telescope that allows a polarization-free focus. The polarimeter is placed at this Cassegrain focus. This is the key element of the mission and the most challenging to be designed. The main challenge lies in the huge spectral range offered by the instrument; the polarimeter has to deliver the full Stokes vector with a high precision from the FUV (119 nm) to the NIR (888 nm). The polarimeter module is then followed by a high-resolution echelle-spectrometer achieving a resolution of 35000 in the visible range and 25000 in the UV. The two channels are separated after the echelle grating, allowing a specific cross-dispersion and focusing optics for the UV and visible ranges. Considering the large field of view and the high numerical aperture, the focusing optic for both the UV and visible channels is a Three-Mirror-Anastigmat (TMA) telescope, in order to focus the various wavelengths and many orders onto the detectors.

Spectropolarimetry for earth observations: a novel method for characterization of aerosols and clouds

Aerosols affect Earth’s energy level by scattering and absorbing radiation and by changing the properties of clouds. Such effects influence the precipitation patterns and lead to modifications of the global circulation systems that constitute Earth’s climate. The aerosol effects on our climate cannot be at full scale estimated due to the insufficient knowledge of their properties at a global scale. Achieving global measurement coverage requires an instrument with a large instantaneous field of view that can perform polarization measurements with high accuracy, typically better than 0.1%. Developing such an instrument can be considered as the most important challenge in polarimetric aerosol remote sensing. Using a novel technique to measure polarization, we have designed an instrument for a low-Earth orbit, e.g. International Space Station, that can simultaneously characterize the intensity and state of linear polarization of scattered sunlight, from 400 to 800 nm and 1200 to 1600 nm, for 30 viewing directions, each with a 30° viewing angle. In this article we present the instrument’s optical design concept.