Instrumentation for vacuum UV polarimetry at the University of Firenze's XUVLab

Among the University of Firenze's XUVLab interests is the study of vacuum UV (VUV) polarimetry. The XUVLab is developing a reflecting VUV polarization analyzer with improved sensitivity. The analyzer is obtained by optimizing the instrumental configuration (best compromise between polarizing efficiency and throughput), the detector choice, and the selection of the reflecting material. Here, a preliminary theoretical study of material properties is described in order to select the best candidates for experimental characterization activity in the spectral region of the HI Lyman series lines (90 - 130 nm). The experimental setup for the characterization of the reflecting materials is also described. The whole study is related to the development of a UV polarimeter for the MIDEX/ASCE NASA project.