ProtoPol is a medium-resolution echelle spectro-polarimeter initially conceived as a prototype instrument of the currently under development M-FOSC-EP (Mt. Abu Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera-Echelle Polarimeter) instrument - a two-channel multimode instrument which is currently being designed for PRL 1.2m and 2.5m telescopes at Mt. Abu. Though ProtoPol was initially conceived to evaluate the development methodology of M-FOSC-EP with commercially available off-the-shelf components, it was later elevated to the level of a full-fledged back-end instrument for PRL telescopes. ProtoPol was designed on the concept of echelle and cross-disperser gratings to record the cross-dispersed spectra in the wavelength range from 390 to 940 nm with a resolution (λ/δλ) in the range of 7000-8000. ProtoPol has been successfully developed and commissioned on PRL 1.2m and 2.5m telescopes since December 2023, and a variety of observations are being carried out for instrument characterization and scientific purposes. The design and development methodology of ProtoPol with complete off-the-shelf components offers a cost-effective way to develop spectro-polarimeters with such resolutions for small aperture (2-3m) telescopes around the world with a shorter development period.
Mt. Abu Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera-Echelle Polarimeter (M-FOSC-EP) is a two-channel multimode instrument currently under design for the upcoming PRL 2.5m telescope at Mt. Abu, India. M-FOSC-EP would provide capabilities of seeing limited imaging, low-resolution spectroscopy (R∼500-800), and high-resolution spectro-polarimetry (R∼15000) over the visible waveband. This design uses a common collimator optics, followed by a movable fold mirror to direct the incoming telescope beam into either of the low-resolution and spectropolarimetry modules, which are equipped with their separate detector system. As a precursor of M-FOSC-EP, a prototype spectro-polarimeter named ProtoPol is also being developed with commercially off-the-shelf optical components. ProtoPol could be used on existing 1.2m as well as on upcoming 2.5m PRL telescopes. Here we present the optical designs and performances of M-FOSC-EP and ProtoPol. In addition, the opto-mechanical design of ProtoPol has been presented.
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