The Visible Spectro-Polarimeter of the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope

The design implements dual-beam polarimetry, a polychromatic polarization modulator, a high-dispersion echelle grating, and three spectral channels that can be automatically positioned. A defining feature of the instrument is its capability to tune anywhere within the 380 - 900 nm range of the solar spectrum, allowing for a virtually infinite number of combinations of three wavelengths to be observed simultaneously.

This enables the ViSP user to pursue well-established spectro-polarimetric studies of the magnetic structure and plasma dynamics of the solar atmosphere, as well as completely novel investigations of the solar spectrum. Within the suite of first-generation instruments at the DKIST, ViSP is the only wavelength-versatile spectro-polarimeter available to the scientific community. It was specifically designed as a discovery instrument to explore new spectroscopic and polarimetric diagnostics and test improved models of polarized line formation through high spatial-, spectral-, and temporal-resolution observations of the Sun's polarized spectrum.