DIPOL-2: a double image high precision polarimeter

We have built a new broad-band polarimeter (DIPOL-2), capable of measuring polarization with the precision at the 10^-5 level. Two dichroic beam-splitters are used to split light into three passbands (BVR), simultaneously recorded with three CCDs. A rotatable superachromatic λ/2 (or λ/4) plate is used as the polarization modulator and a plane parallel calcite plate as the polarization analyzer. Simple yet effective design with small number of optical elements and moving mechanical parts makes DIPOL-2 a highly versatile and reliable instrument with negligible instrumental polarization, very well suitable for observations with remotely controlled telescopes. Current and planned observing programs are briefly described.