Related papers: Scientific Prospects for Hard X-ray Polarimetry
The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) observations of the X-ray binary 4U 1630-47 in the high soft state revealed high linear polarization degrees (PDs) rising from 6% at 2 keV to 10% at 8 keV. We discuss in this letter three…
An approach for measuring linear X-ray polarization over a broad-band using conventional spectroscopic optics is described. A set of multilayer-coated flats reflect the dispersed X-rays to the instrument detectors. The intensity variation…
The hard X-ray emission from magnetars and other isolated neutron stars remains under-explored. An instrument with higher sensitivity to hard X-rays is critical to understanding the physics of neutron star magnetospheres and also the…
X-ray polarimetry promises us an unprecedented look at the structure of magnetic fields and on the processes at the base of acceleration of particles up to ultrarelativistic energies in relativistic jets. Crucial pieces of information are…
The launch of IXPE telescope in late 2021 finally made polarization measurements in the 2-8 keV band a reality, more than 40 years after the pioneering observations of the OSO-8 satellite. In the first two years of operations IXPE targeted…
The development of micropixel gas detectors, capable to image tracks produced in a gas by photoelectrons, makes possible to perform polarimetry of X-ray celestial sources in the focus of grazing incidence X-ray telescopes. HXMT is a mission…
Hard X-ray observations are the most efficient way to discriminate accretion-powered sources from star-light. Furthermore, hard X-rays are less affected than other bands by obscuration. For these reasons the advent of imaging instruments…
The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), launched on December 9, 2021, enables X-ray polarimetric observations with unprecedented sensitivity in the 2-8 keV energy range. X-ray polarization allows us to test accretion disk, corona,…
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…
We briefly discuss the history of X-ray polarimetry for astronomical applications including a guide to the appropriate statistics. We also provide an introduction to some of the new techniques discussed in more detail elsewhere in these…
X-ray polarimetry promises to deliver unique information about the geometry of the inner accretion flow of astrophysical black holes and the nature of matter and electromagnetism in and around neutron stars. In this paper, we discuss the…
Polarimetry is an area of high energy astrophysics which is still relatively unexplored, even though it is recognized that this type of measurement could drastically increase our knowledge of the physics and geometry of high energy sources.…
We study the properties of polarized radiation in turbulent magnetic fields from X-ray binary jets. These turbulent magnetic fields are composed of large- and small-scale configurations, which result in the polarized jitter radiation when…
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…
Accreting X-ray pulsars, located in X-ray binaries, are neutron stars with magnetic fields as strong as $B\sim10^{12\text{--}13}$ G. This review offers a concise overview of the accretion and radiation processes of X-ray pulsars and…
X-ray binary systems consist of a companion star and a compact object in close orbit. Thanks to their copious X-ray emission, these objects have been studied in detail using X-ray spectroscopy and timing. The inclination of these systems is…
We review the polarization properties of X-ray emission from highly magnetized neutron stars, focusing on emission from the stellar surfaces. We discuss how x-ray polarization can be used to constrain neutron star magnetic field and…
Recent studies of the cosmic X-ray background (XRB) have suggested the possible existence of a population of relatively faint sources with hard X-ray spectra; however, the emission mechanism remains unclear. If the hard X-ray emission is…
X-ray polarimetry has the potential to make key-contributions to our understanding of galactic compact objects like binary black hole systems and neutron stars, and extragalactic objects like active galactic nuclei, blazars, and Gamma Ray…
X-ray binaries hosting a compact object have been among the main targets of the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) since its launch, due to their high brightness in the 2-8 keV energy band. The spectropolarimetric analysis performed…