Supernovae of all types exhibit time-dependent spectropolarimetric signatures produced primarily by electron scattering. These reveal the presence of aspherical and variable phenomena such as complex velocity structures, changing illumination, and asymmetric or clumpy morphologies within the ejecta or surrounding circumstellar material. In addition, the gradual thinning of the ejecta over time allows us to probe different scattering regions as the supernova evolves. Interpreting the time variations of these spectropolarimetric signatures yields unprecedentedly detailed information about supernova explosion mechanisms, the physical processes that shape the density and velocity distributions of the ejecta and circumstellar material, and the properties of the progenitor star.

I present an overview of supernova spectropolarimetry, highlighting recent observational and computational results. This versatile technique helps us to constrain explosion mechanisms, connect SNe with their massive progenitors (as well as other high-energy transient phenomena such as GRBs), and investigate the process of stellar evolution in other galaxies.

Since 2013, coordinated campaigns with the THEMIS spectropolarimeter in Tenerife and other instruments (space based: Hinode/SOT, IRIS or ground based: Sac Peak, Meudon) are organized to observe prominences. THEMIS records spectropolarimetry at the He I D3 and we use the PCA inversion technique to derive their field strength, inclination and azimuth.

All of the observed prominences are quiescent, as they were stable as filaments for at least three days and not eruptive. They present similar characteristics, they are highly dynamic and present horizontal magnetic fields. Statistically, the inclination from the local vertical is around 90 degrees, with some points around 60 and 120 degrees. The field strength is between 5 and 15 Gauss. We tested the effects of adding a turbulent field component to the horizontal field. For those pixels showing inclinations around 60 and 120 degrees, we find that such a model is compatible with the polarimetric observations. In some of these prominences, identified as “tornadoes” the field strength may reach 50 Gauss, and in the top of the tornadoes some points exhibit an inclination which cannot correspond to any model in our grid of models. We investigate different solutions.

We present the results of a numerical simulation of the corona and wind structure of the Sun-like exoplanet-host GJ 3021 using a global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model. The simulation is driven by the radial component of the surface magnetic field recovered with the Zeeman Doppler Imaging (ZDI) technique. We consider two different ZDI input maps, which have similar large-scale structures but different spatial resolutions and field strengths. These maps arise from different but comparable models used to fit the observed circularly polarised spectra of the star. Our simulations show that the structure of the inner corona is consistent among the considered cases. Larger discrepancies are found in the wind structure, in particular in the radial wind speed and the Alfvén surface topology. These elements can have a significant impact on the mass loss and angular momentum loss predicted for this system and in other studies based on this numerical data-driven approach.

We discuss the role of linear emission-line polarimetry in a wide set of stellar environments, involving the accretion disks around young pre-main sequence stars, to the aspherical outflows from O stars, luminous blue variables and Wolf-Rayet stars, just prior to explosion as a supernova or a gamma-ray burst. We predict subtle QU line signatures, such as single/double QU loops for un/disrupted disks. Whilst there is plenty of evidence for single QU loops, suggesting the presence of disrupted disks around young stars, current sensitivity (with S/N of order 1000) is typically not sufficient to allow for quantitative 3D Monte Carlo modeling. However, the detection of our predicted signatures is expected to become feasible with the massive improvement in sensitivity of extremely large mirrors.

The ϵ Aurigae system is a single–line spectroscopic binary system that consists of a variable F0 supergiant star and an occulting disk surrounding an unseen object, probably a B star. The eclipse occurs every 27 years and lasts for almost 2 years. Spectral features attributed to the disk exhibit line shifts due to the rotation of the disk that are easily observed in spectra. We obtained 50+ epochs of high dispersion optical spectropolarimetric data from the ESPaDOnS instrument at the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope before, during, and after the most recent eclipse (2009–2011). We found numerous 3–sigma (or greater) linear polarization features in the spectra and associated these with atomic absorption features also present in the spectra. We observed dramatic changes to polarization and position angles with time during eclipse, particularly around 3rd contact. The increased polarization could be due to a localized increased number of scatterers.

Red supergiant stars (RSGs) are not only a key evolutionary stage of massive stars participating in the chemical evolution of galaxies, they also represent a fantastic and challenging laboratory of (magneto-)hydrodynamics. We present recent results and on-going research on mass loss, atmospheres, and polarimetric studies of RSGs that reveal a magnetic field of unknown origin. We discuss the potential interplay between these different processes.

We present the results of 1.3 and 3.6 cm radio continuum emission toward the NGC 2071IR star-forming region, carried out with the VLA in its A configuration. We detect continuum emission toward the infrared sources IRS 1 and IRS 3 at both wavelengths. In particular, IRS 1 breaks up into three continuum peaks (IRS 1E, 1C, and 1W), aligned in the east-west direction, being IRS 1 the central source. The morphology of the condensation IRS 1W is very interesting, which has an elongated structure and shows a significant curvature towards the north. We suggest that this morphology could be explained as the impact of a high-velocity wind or jetlike outflow from IRS 1 on a close companion or other obstruction, which also explains the strong water maser emission observed toward IRS 1W.

Polarimetry is routinely used to characterise the surfaces of bodies in our solar system. In the near future, polarisation measurements of the starlight reflected by exoplanets will become a common and powerful tool to constrain the atmospheres and the surface properties of other worlds.

If extra-terrestial life has similar signatures as the life we know, then astronomical observations of planet Earth represent a benchmark to eventually probe bio-signatures also on other planets. In fact, linear polarisation spectra of Earthshine (the sunlight that has been first reflected by Earth and then reflected back to Earth by the Moon), allow us to detect the presence of oxygen, ozone, and water in the atmosphere of our planet. Surface properties such as fractional contributions of clouds and ocean, as well as vegetation can be inferred. Ultimately, Earthshine observations provide strong observational constraints on model predictions for Earth-like exoplanets.

In this contribution, we review the most recent observations of Earthshine by polarimetry. We highlight some advances in the interpretation and modelling of whole Earth polarisation, which will be of paramount importance to interpret possible bio-signatures of Earth-like planets in the habitable zone of nearby stars in the future.

Asteroid polarimetry has taken profit in recent years of a renewed interest triggered by exciting results from observing campaigns and theoretical studies. One of the most important applications of polarimetry to asteroid studies is the derivation of the geometric albedo and of the typical sizes of the particles forming the regolith layer covering the surface. Moreover, the serendipitous discovery of a new class of asteroids displaying unusual polarimetric properties, the so-called “Barbarians”, has been followed by increasing evidence that these objects can be extremely primitive and may be interpreted as remnants of the very first generation of solid bodies accreted in the inner Solar System. In addition, some results of asteroid polarimetry are going to be interpreted, for the first time, in terms of some “ground truth” evidence, made possible by in situ observations of the surface of the asteroid (4) Vesta by the Dawn space probe. Finally, some preliminary evidence suggests that spectro-polarimetry is going to become a major tool for the physical characterization of the small bodies of the solar system.

The surfaces of the atmosphere-less objects of our solar system are traditionally probed via reflectance measurements and/or broadband linear polarimetry. Little attention has been paid so far to the wavelength dependence of the linear polarization of the scattered light. We decided to explore the potential of spectropolarimetry as a remote sensing tool for asteroids in addition to the more traditional reflectance measurements, and we carried out a spectropolarimetric survey of asteroids – to our best knolwedge, the first of its kind. We observed a sample of asteroids of different albedo and taxonomic classes, as well as a few regions at the limb of the Moon. We show that objects exhibiting similar reflectance spectra may display totally different polarization spectra, and we suggest that both intensity and polarization spectra should be used for asteroid classification. We also found that in some cases the Umov law is violated, that is, in contrast to what is expected from simple physical considerations, the fraction of linear polarization and the reflectance spectra may be correlated positively. We conclude that future modelling attempts of the surface structure of asteroids should be aimed at explaining both reflectance and polarization spectra.

There are several ways planets can survive the giant phase of the host star, hence one can consider the case of Earth-like planets orbiting white dwarfs. As a white dwarf cools from 6000 K to 4000 K, a planet orbiting at 0.01 AU from the star would remain in the continuous habitable zone (CHZ) for about 8 Gyr. Polarisation due to a terrestrial planet in the CHZ of a cool white dwarf (CWD) is 102 (104) times larger than it would be in the habitable zone of a typical M-dwarf (Sun-like star). Polarimetry is thus a powerful tool to detect close-in planets around white dwarfs. Multi-band polarimetry would also allow one to reveal the presence of a planet atmosphere, even providing a first characterisation. With current facilities a super-Earth-sized atmosphereless planet is detectable with polarimetry around the brightest known CWD. Planned future facilities render smaller planets detectable, in particular by increasing the instrumental sensitivity in the blue. Preliminary habitability study show also that photosynthetic processes can be sustained on Earth-like planets orbiting CWDs and that the DNA-weighted UV radiation dose for an Earth-like planet in the CHZ is less than the maxima encountered on Earth, hence white dwarfs are compatible with the persistence of complex life from the perspective of UV irradiation.

Stellar magnetism, explorable via polarimetry, is a crucial driver of activity, ionization, photodissociation, chemistry and winds in stellar environments. Thus it has an important impact on the atmospheres and magnetospheres of surrounding planets. Modeling of stellar magnetic fields and their winds is extremely challenging, both from the observational and the theoretical points of view, and only recent ground breaking advances in observational instrumentation - as were discussed during this Symposium - and a deeper theoretical understanding of magnetohydrodynamic processes in stars enable us to model stellar magnetic fields and winds and the resulting influence on surrounding planets in more and more detail. We have initiated a national and international research network (NFN): ‘Pathways to Habitability - From Disks to Active Stars, Planets to Life’, to address questions on the formation and habitability of environments in young, active stellar/planetary systems. In this contribution we discuss the work we are carrying out within this project and focus on how stellar magnetic fields, their winds and the relation to stellar rotation can be assessed observationally with relevant techniques such as Zeeman Doppler Imaging (ZDI), field extrapolation and wind simulations.

PolarBase contains stellar spectropolarimetric data collected with the NARVAL & ESPaDOnS instruments (Petit et al. 2014). Their respective spectral resolutions are 65 000 and 68 000, in spectropolarimetric mode. As the first part of this work, we use the NARVAL spectropolarimetric repositories. We selected spectra from a sample of cool stars with effective Temperature (Teff) ranging between 4900 to 6000 K. This sample contains stellar systems with and without reported exoplanets. We exploit the full wavelength range from 380 to 900 nm in order to obtain chromospheric indexes such as the Ca ii H&K S-Index, and a Ca ii IRT and Hα index. We calibrated our measurements using the Mount Wilson S-Index values. Furthermore, we employ lithium (Li) abundance measurements from the literature (Gonzalez et al. 2010; Delgado Mena et al. 2014; Israelian et al. 2004), investigating in this way a possible correlation between the chromospheric activity measurements and the Li abundance in 32 selected cool stars.

Linear broadband polarimetry is used to characterize the objects of our solar system, and has also been proposed as a diagnostic tool for the atmospheres of exo-solar planets. Homochirality characterizes life as we know it and induces circular polarization in the diffuse reflectance spectra of biotic material. Hence it has been suggested that circular polarimetry may be used as a remote sensing tool for the search of extra-terrestrial life. With this motivation in mind we have decided to explore the potential of both linear and circular spectropolarimetry as a diagnostic tool for remote sensing of biotic material. We have used the calibration unit of the EFOSC2 instrument of the La Silla Observatory to obtain low resolution, but high signal to noise circular and linear spectropolarimetric measurements of a number of inorganic and organic materials. We then compare our “laboratory data” with spectropolarimetric observations of atmosphere-less bodies of our solar system and of Earthshine obtained with instruments very similar to that one used for our laboratory samples. We conclude that linear polarization measurements are more suitable than circular polarization measurements for the characterization of planetary surfaces and atmospheres, and for the search of extra-terrestrial life.

It is well-known that partial frequency redistribution (PRD) is the basic physical mechanism to correctly describe radiative transfer in spectral lines. In the case of polarized line scattering, the PRD becomes particularly important to describe the line-wing polarization, instead of the well-known mechanism of complete redistribution (CRD). Historically, the two-level atom PRD scattering matrices for polarized line scattering were first derived in the 1970's, and later generalized to the case of arbitrary fields in 1997. The latter formulation of the PRD matrices have subsequently been used in the solution of the line transfer equation to successfully model the non-magnetic (resonance scattering) and the magnetic (Hanle scattering) polarization observations. In recent years, using the Kramers-Heisenberg approach, we formulated PRD matrices for various physical mechanisms like quantum interference involving fine- and hyperfine-structure states in a two-term atom. The effect of collisions is included in an approximate way. We have used these PRD matrices to model the observed linear polarization in several interesting lines of the Second Solar Spectrum. In this paper I present a few results which highlight the importance of PRD in the interpretation of the polarized Stokes profiles.

Scattering line polarization and the Hanle effect are among the most important mechanisms for diagnostics of the solar and stellar atmospheres. The fact that real stellar atmospheres are horizontally inhomogeneous makes the spectral synthesis and interpretation very challenging because the effect of thermodynamic fluctuations on spectral line polarization is entangled with the action of magnetic fields. This applies to the spatially resolved as well as to the averaged spectra. The necessary step towards the interpretation of such spectra is to study the line formation in sufficiently realistic 3D MHD models and compare the synthetic spectra with observations. This paper gives an overview of recent progress in the field of 3D NLTE synthesis of polarized spectral lines resulting from investigations with the radiative transfer code PORTA.

The solar abundances of Fe and of the CNO elements play an important role in addressing a number of important issues such as the formation, structure, and evolution of the Sun and the solar system, the origin of the chemical elements, and the evolution of stars and galaxies. Despite the large number of papers published on this issue, debates about the solar abundances of these elements continue. The aim of the present investigation is to quantify the impact of photospheric magnetic fields on the determination of the solar chemical abundances. To this end, we used two 3D snapshot models of the quiet solar photosphere with a different magnetization taken from recent magneto-convection simulations with small-scale dynamo action. Using such 3D models we have carried out spectral synthesis for a large set of Fei, Ci, Ni, and Oi lines, in order to derive abundance corrections caused by the magnetic, Zeeman broadening of the intensity profiles and the magnetically induced changes of the photospheric temperature structure. We find that if the magnetism of the quiet solar photosphere is mainly produced by a small-scale dynamo, then its impact on the determination of the abundances of iron, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen is negligible.

In our previous attempt to model the Stokes profiles of the Cr i triplet at 5204-5208 Å and the Ba ii D2 at 4554 Å, we found it necessary to slightly modify the standard FAL model atmospheres to fit the observed polarization profiles. In the case of Cr i triplet, this modification was done to reduce the theoretical continuum polarization, and in the case of Ba ii D2, it was needed to reproduce the central peak in Q/I. In this work, we revisit both these cases using different standard model atmospheres whose temperature structures closely resemble those of the modified FAL models, and explore the possibility of synthesizing the line profiles without the need for small modifications of the model atmosphere.

The unification model of active galactic nuclei postulates an accreting supermassive black hole as the central engine, surrounded by a putative dusty torus. This dust absorbs the incoming radiation, re-emits it in the infrared and obscures our view of the central region at certain inclinations. We present a new set of AGN models, in which the torus is modelled as a 3D multiphase medium. These new models can explain the observed spectral energy distribution of AGNs over the entire infrared domain, including the observed silicate feature strength and the level of near-infrared continuum. A new generation of multi-phase models, based on hydrodynamical simulations, is being constructed. We will compute the polarisation structure of these physically motivated 3D torus models, and compare them to simpler smooth torus models and to the available observational data.

The Ca i 4227 Å is a chromospheric line exhibiting the largest degree of linear polarization near the limb, in the visible spectrum of the Sun. Modeling the observations of the center-to-limb variations (CLV) of different lines in the Second Solar Spectrum helps to sample the height dependence of the magnetic field, as the observations made at different lines of sight sample different heights in the solar atmosphere. Supriya et al. (2014) attempted to simultaneously model the CLV of the (I, Q/I) spectra of the Ca i 4227 Å line using the standard 1-D FAL model atmospheres. They found that the standard FAL model atmospheres and also any appropriate combination of them, fail to simultaneously fit the observed Stokes (I, Q/I) profiles at all the limb distances (μ) satisfying at the same time all the observational constraints. This failure of 1-D modeling approach can probably be overcome by using multi-dimensional modeling which is computationally expensive. To eliminate an even wider choice of 1-D models, we attempt here to simultaneously model the CLV of the (I, Q/I) spectra using the FCHHT solar model atmospheres which are updated and recent versions of the FAL models. The details of our modeling efforts and the results are presented.