Polarization and Polarimetry: a Review
Abstract
Polarization is a basic property of light and is fundamentally linked to the internal geometry of a source of radiation. Polarimetry complements photometric, spectroscopic, and imaging analyses of sources of radiation and has made possible multiple astrophysical discoveries. In this article I review (i) the physical basics of polarization: electromagnetic waves, photons, and parameterizations; (ii) astrophysical sources of polarization: scattering, synchrotron radiation, active media, and the Zeeman, Goldreich-Kylafis, and Hanle effects, as well as interactions between polarization and matter (like birefringence, Faraday rotation, or the Chandrasekhar-Fermi effect); (iii) observational methodology: on-sky geometry, influence of atmosphere and instrumental polarization, polarization statistics, and observational techniques for radio, optical, and X/gamma wavelengths; and (iv) science cases for astronomical polarimetry: solar and stellar physics, planetary system bodies, interstellar matter, astrobiology, astronomical masers, pulsars, galactic magnetic fields, gamma-ray bursts, active galactic nuclei, and cosmic microwave background radiation.
- Publication:
-
Journal of Korean Astronomical Society
- Pub Date:
- February 2014
- DOI:
- 10.5303/JKAS.2014.47.1.15
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1401.1911
- Bibcode:
- 2014JKAS...47...15T
- Keywords:
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- Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 25 pages, 5 figures