[vsnet-chat 2529] Re: Questions on polarimetry

[Taichi Kato <tkato>]

Re: [vsnet-chat 2527] Questions on polarimetry

   Though I presume many specialists are out there...

> - Polars are magnetic CVs, aren't they?
> What is the difference betw. polars and
> intermediate polars?

   In polars, the spin of the white dwarf is coupled with the orbital
rotation.  Pspin = Porb (in principle).  Intermediate polars have different
spin periods than orbital periods.  Some polars have slightly different
spin periods than orbital periods.  BY Cam (currently on observer's topic)
is the best example.  Some researchers consider this decoupling was caused
by the recent nova explosion.

> - If I put a pola-filter in front of a CCD,
> and rotate it betw. exposures, would I
> have polarimetry?

   This is the very method of polarimetry (but I'm not sure whether a
Polaroid film can be used for this purpose).  Some objects (like blazars)
have dozens of percent polarized light.  So you may even get "visual
polarimetry" for such a source.

Regards,
Taichi Kato

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