1 Introduction

TSP is an astronomical data reduction package which handles time series data and polarimetric data. These facilities are missing from most existing data reduction packages which are usually oriented towards either spectroscopy or image processing or both. Where facilities for polarimetry or time series data have been provided they have usually not been sufficiently general to handle data from a variety of different instruments.

TSP is currently used to process data from the following instruments:

• Spectropolarimetry data obtained with the AAO spectropolarimeters using wave-plate or Pockels cell modulators in conjunction with either IPCS or CCD detectors.
• Infrared spectropolarimetry obtained with the IRPOL polarimeter module in conjunction with the CGS2 grating spectrometer and the UKT6 and UKT9 CVF systems at UKIRT.
• Infrared imaging polarimetry obtained with the IRIS instrument at the AAT and with similar instruments
• Time series imaging and polarimetry obtained with the AAO Faint Object Polarimeter.
• Time series polarimetry obtained with the Hatfield Polarimeter at either UKIRT or AAT.
• Time series polarimetry obtained with the University of Turku UBVRI polarimeter.
• Five channel time series photometry obtained with the Hatfield polarimeter at the AAT in its high speed photometry mode.
• Time series infrared photometry obtained with the AAO Infrared Photometer Spectrometer (IRPS).
• Time series optical photometry obtained using the HSP3 high speed photometry package at the AAT.

TSP is an ADAM application package and can be run from the UNIX shell or from the ICL command language. It uses the HDS data system for data storage and the NCAR/SGS/GKS packages for graphics.

TSP does not attempt to duplicate features that are available in other Starlink packages, and it is assumed that it will typically be used in conjunction with packages such as KAPPA, FIGARO and CCDPACK. These packages might be used to perform any standard image processing operations required for CCD or IR array reduction with TSP then being used to perform the polarimetric reduction.