An adaptation of the LCS
for spatially and spectrally resolved polarization measures. The effective
slit length (field of view) is 60 arcsec. All LCS
gratings can be used with the polarimeter hardware. TI1
and CC1
are both available for use with SPol. Polarimetry requires very high signal-to-noise
ratio compared to ordinary spectroscopy, and a rough limiting magnitude
would be sigma = 0.5% polarization on a 15.0 mag object in 1 hour. It should
be noted that the SPol is not a simple instrument, and has very expensive,
fragile optics. It is thus imperative that observers from outside institutions
collaborate with a knowledgeable UT Austin observer who has experience
with the instrument and who will take part in at least the first couple
of observing runs.