Astronomical x-ray polarimetry based on photoelectric effect with microgap detectors
Abstract
The polarisation of x-ray photons can be determined by measuring the direction of emission of a K-shell photoelectron. Effective exploitation of this effect below 10 keV would allow development of a highly sensitive x-ray polarimeter dedicated in particular to x-ray astronomy observations. Only with the advent of finely segmented gas detectors was it possible to detect polarisation sensitivity based on the photoelectric effect in this energy range. Simulation and measurements at 5.4 and 8.04 keV with a microgap gas counter, using both a polarised and an unpolarised x-ray source, showed that the photoelectron track in a neon-based gas mixture retains the memory of the polarisation of the incoming photons. Possible experiments aimed at galactic/extragalactic sources and solar flares are considered and their sensitivity to these sources is calculated.
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0012183,
title = {Astronomical x-ray polarimetry based on photoelectric effect with microgap detectors},
author = {Paolo Soffitta and Enrico Costa and Giuseppe di Persio and Ennio Morelli and Alda Rubini and Ronaldo Bellazzini and Alessandro Brez and Renzo Raffo and Gloria Spandre and David Joy},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0012183},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
45 pages included 13 figures; (Accepted for publication in : Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A)