Related papers: Testing multilayer-coated polarizing mirrors for t…
Dielectric mirrors comprising thin-film multilayers are widely used in optical experiments because they can achieve substantially higher reflectance compared to metal mirrors. Here we investigate potential problems that can arise when…
Polarized light microscopy, as a contrast-enhancing technique for optically anisotropic materials, is a method well suited for the investigation of a wide variety of effects in solid-state physics, as for example birefringence in crystals…
The development of synchrotron radiation light sources has been going on for decades. Recently, X-ray free-electron lasers as well as the fourth-generation synchrotron radiation sources based on multiple bend achromat lattices are…
Polarized neutrons are a powerful probe to investigate magnetism in condensed matter on length scales from single atomic distances to micrometers. With the ongoing advancement of neutron optics, that allow to transport beams with increased…
Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes for very-high energy gamma-ray astronomy need mirror with high reflectance roughly in the wavelength between 300 and 550 nm. The current standard reflective layer of such mirrors is aluminum. Being…
Measuring the diffuse, highly-ionized baryonic content in galactic halos and the intergalactic medium through soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy of active galactic nuclei is a main scientific objective of the Lynx X-ray Observatory mission…
We review the basic principles of X-ray polarimetry and current detector technologies based on the photoelectric effect, Bragg reflection, and Compton scattering. Recent technological advances in high-spatial-resolution gas-filled X-ray…
We compute rest-frame reflection spectra and the corresponding energy-dependent linear polarization degree and angle for (un)polarized single-temperature blackbody spectra impinging on a partially ionized constant-density optically thick…
In the past decade, several neutron reflectometry methods for determining the modulus and phase of the complex reflection coefficient of an unknown multilayer thin film have been worked out among which the method of variation of…
X-ray diffraction was demonstrated from shock-compressed polycrystalline metal on nanosecond time scales. Laser ablation was used to induce shock waves in polycrystalline foils of Be, 25 to 125 microns thick. A second laser pulse was used…
The remarkable polarization properties of the synchrotron light have lead to the advent of modern synchrotron-related spectroscopic studies with angular and/or magnetic selectivity. We give here an overview of the prominent aspect of the…
Nickel carbon based multi-layers are a viable route towards future hard X-ray and soft $\gamma$-ray focusing telescopes. Here, we study the Pulsed Laser Deposition growth conditions of such bilayers by Reflective High Energy Electron…
X-ray polarimetry has seen a growing interest in recent years. Improvements in detector technology and focusing X-ray optics now enable sensitive astrophysical X-ray polarization measurements. These measurements will provide new insights…
We have developed a polarized hard X-ray photoemission (HAXPES) system to study the ground-state symmetry of strongly correlated materials. The linear polarization of the incoming X-ray beam is switched by the transmission-type phase…
XL-Calibur is a balloon-borne Compton polarimeter for X-rays in the $\sim$15-80 keV range. Using an X-ray mirror with a 12 m focal length for collecting photons onto a beryllium scattering rod surrounded by CZT detectors, a…
We develop a polarization characterization platform for optical devices in free-space quantum communications. We demonstrate an imaging polarimeter, which analyzes both incident polarization states and the angle of incidence, attached to a…
Optics for future X-ray telescopes will be characterized by very large aperture and focal length, and will be made of lightweight materials like glass or silicon in order to keep the total mass within acceptable limits. Optical modules…
Optics for future X-ray telescopes will be characterized by very large aperture and focal length, and will be made of lightweight materials like glass or plastic in order to keep the total mass within acceptable limits. Optics based on thin…
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…
(Abridged) Context. To directly image rocky exoplanets in reflected (polarized) light, future space- and ground-based high-contrast imagers and telescopes aim to reach extreme contrasts at close separations from the star. However, the…