A First Look at the Interstellar Polarization Survey Database
We present a first look at the Interstellar Polarization Survey (IPS) Database. This database contains optical linear polarimetric measurements of over 35.000 stars down to V-mag~16 (Magalhães et al. 2005) obtained using the IAGPOL polarimeter installed in the Boller & Chivens telescope of Observatório do Pico dos Dias (Brazil). We focus on 38 fields of about 0.3x0.3 degrees in size, located in or close to the Galactic Plane. The polarization of most stars in these fields has an interstellar origin and depends on the distribution and properties of the interstellar dust, as well as the Galactic magnetic field (GMF). We aim to use the database to study the GMF through correlations with other interstellar medium (ISM) tracers, analysis of interstellar turbulence, and modeling of dust polarization.
