Fiber-optic magnetometer for prime focus of 6-m BTA telescope based on suspended echelle spectrograph

Abstract

We have developed and manufactured a fiber-optic magnetometer for the prime focus of the 6-m BTA telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences based on a suspended echelle spectrograph. The magnetometer is designed to improve the spectrum stability and eliminate the effect of instrumental polarization of the diagonal mirror on the results of magnetic field measurements. The magnetometer is to be used for measurements of stellar magnetic fields in stars and to study their chemical composition. The instrument operates in the 5000–6800 A wavelength interval with mean reciprocal dispersion of 0.15 A/pixel. According to the estimates for 9m.5 stars, the standard error of magnetic field measurements based on 400 spectral lines would be 100 G for a half-hour exposure.