Related papers: Comparative study of different scattering geometri…
Many astrophysical environments such as X-ray binaries, active galactic nuclei, and accretion disks of compact objects have photoionized plasmas. The strong photoionizing environment found near these bright X-ray sources can be produced in…
We study the impact of gas motions on the polarization of bright X-ray emission lines from the hot intercluster medium (ICM). The polarization naturally arises from resonant scattering of emission lines owing to a quadrupole component in…
It has been recently proposed (Boggs, Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 503 (2003) 562), to use polarization of Compton scattered gamma-rays to improve the imaging performance of Compton telescopes. Building upon that work, we detected the…
Some bright cD galaxies in cluster cooling flows have Thomson optical depths exceeding 0.01. A few percent of their luminosity is scattered and appears as diffuse polarized emission. We calculate the scattering process for different…
In the magnetar model, the quiescent non-thermal soft X-ray emission from Anomalous X-ray Pulsars and Soft-Gamma Repeaters is thought to arise from resonant comptonization of thermal photons by charges moving in a twisted magnetosphere.…
We investigate the polarization properties of Comptonized X-rays from relativistic jets in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) using Monte Carlo simulations. We consider three scenarios commonly proposed for the observed X-ray emission in AGN:…
We describe the current status of the design and development of a Thomson X-ray polarimeter suitable for a small satellite mission. Currently we are considering two detector geometries, one using rectangular detectors placed on four sides…
The study of polarized radiation transfer in the highly-magnetized surface locales of neutron stars is of great interest to the understanding of accreting X-ray pulsars, rotation-powered pulsars and magnetars. This paper explores scattering…
The study of magnetars is of particular relevance since these objects are the only laboratories where the physics in ultra-strong magnetic fields can be directly tested. Until now, spectroscopic and timing measurements at X-ray energies in…
We report on Monte Carlo studies of the hard X-ray polarimeter X-Calibur. The polarimeter will be used in the focal plane of a grazing incidence hard X-ray telescope. It combines a low-Z Compton scatterer with a high-Z Cadmium Zinc…
Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering (RIXS) is a well-established tool for probing excitations in a wide range of materials. The measured spectra strongly depend on the scattering geometry, via its influence on the polarization of the…
X-ray polarimetry of accreting compact objects has revealed fast time variations in the polarization angle (PA), suggesting that the geometry and/or optical depth of the Comptonization region is changing rapidly. This prompts investigations…
We present modelling of X-ray polarisation spectra emerging from the two competing scenarios that are proposed to explain the broad Fe K{\alpha} line in the Seyfert 1 galaxy MCG-6-30-15. The polarisation signature of complex absorption is…
Context. Scaling relations between cluster properties embody the formation and evolution of cosmic structure. Intrinsic scatters and correlations between X-ray properties are determined from merger history, baryonic processes, and dynamical…
X-ray polarimetry, sometimes alone, and sometimes coupled to spectral and temporal variability measurements and to imaging, allows a wealth of physical phenomena in astrophysics to be studied. X-ray polarimetry investigates the acceleration…
X-ray polarization measurement of cosmic sources provides two unique parameters namely degree and angle of polarization which can probe the emission mechanism and geometry at close vicinity of the compact objects. Specifically, the hard…
Measurement of gamma-ray polarization can provide valuable insight in different areas of physics. A possible application is in Positron Emission Tomography, where annihilation quanta with orthogonal polarizations are emitted. Since…
The development of the first X-ray polarimeter, based on the photoelectric effect 20 years ago and implemented thanks to advances in gas amplification structures and readout techniques, had a significant impact in opening a new window for…
This paper discusses the latest progress in the development of GRAPE (Gamma-Ray Polarimeter Experiment), a hard X-ray Compton Polarimeter. The purpose of GRAPE is to measure the polarization of hard X-rays in the 50-300 keV energy range. We…
The surfaces of neutron stars are sources of strongly polarized soft X rays due to the presence of strong magnetic fields. Radiative transfer mediated by electron scattering and free-free absorption is central to defining local surface…