Context. Z CMa is a complex binary system composed of a Herbig Be and an FU Ori star. The Herbig star is surrounded by a dust cocoon of variable geometry, and the whole system is surrounded by an infalling envelope. Previous spectropolarimetric …
Context. Imaging polarimetry is a powerful tool for imaging faint circumstellar material. It is a rapidly developing field with great promise for diagnostics of both the large-scale structures and the small-scale details of the scattering particles. …
We have used the Zurich Imaging Stokes Polarimeter (ZIMPOL I) with the McMath-Pierce 1.5 m main telescope on Kitt Peak to obtain linear polarization measurements of the off-limb chromosphere with a sensitivity better than 1×10$^-5$. We found that the …
Spatial mapping of the Hanle and Zeeman effects on the Sun has been done for the first time, through Stokes vector imaging with a narrow- band (0.2 ̊A) universal filter. It is shown how the polarization signatures of the Hanle and Zeeman effects can …
To clarify the physical nature of the enigmatic scattering polarization in the Na i D$_1$ and D$_2$ line cores we have explored their behavior with full Stokes vector polarimetry in regions with varying degree of magnetic activity near the solar …
The richly structured linearly polarized spectrum that is produced by coherent scattering in the Sun's atmosphere contains a number of spectral features for which no explanation has been found within the standard scattering theory. According to this …
The remarkable polarization structure of the Na I D_1 and D_2 lines that is due to coherent scattering has remained an enigma, since it has not yet been possible to find an explanation that is consistent with both current understanding of quantum …
While diagnostic techniques based on the ordinary Zeeman effect (e.g. magnetograms) are almost ``blind'' to a turbulent magnetic field with mixed magnetic polarities within the spatial resolution element, the Hanle effect is sensitive to this domain …
The linear polarization that is caused by scattering processes in the solar atmosphere has been refered to as the ``second solar spectrum'', since it is structurally as rich as the ordinary intensity spectrum but quite different in appearance and …
The Sun's radiation becomes linearly polarized by coherent scattering processes in the solar atmosphere. With a novel polarimetry system that achieves a precision of 1e-5 in the degree of polarization, the previously largely unexplored territory of …