Related papers: An X-ray polarimeter for hard X-ray optics
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…
We present a concept for an imaging gamma-ray polarimeter operating from ~50 MeV to ~1 GeV. Such an instrument would be valuable for the study of high-energy pulsars, active galactic nuclei, supernova remnants, and gamma-ray bursts. The…
An X-ray photoelectric polarimeter based on the Gas Pixel Detector has been proposed to be included in many upcoming space missions to fill the gap of about 30 years from the first (and to date only) positive measurement of polarized X-ray…
Polarization detection of X-rays is a non-negligible topic to astrophysical observation. Many polarization detection methods have been well developed for X-rays in the energy range below 10~keV, while the detection at 10-30~keV is rarely…
While the scientific potential of high-energy X-ray and gamma-ray polarimetry has long been recognized, measuring the polarization of high-energy photons is challenging. To date, there has been very few significant detections from an…
We report the first results from an X-ray polarimeter with a micropattern gas proportional counter using an amorphous silicon active matrix readout. With 100% polarized X-rays at 4.5 keV, we obtain a modulation factor of 0.33 +/- 0.03,…
Polarimetry is widely considered a powerful observational technique in X-ray astronomy, useful to enhance our understanding of the emission mechanisms, geometry and magnetic field arrangement of many compact objects. However, the lack of…
The X-ray Timing and Polarization (XTP) is a mission concept for a future space borne X-ray observatory and is currently selected for early phase study. We present a new design of X-ray polarimeter based on the time projection gas chamber.…
X-ray polarimetry promises to give new information about high-energy astrophysical sources, such as binary black hole systems, micro-quasars, active galactic nuclei, and gamma-ray bursts. We designed, built and tested a hard X-ray…
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…
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…
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…
X-ray polarimetry promises to give qualitatively new information about high-energy sources. Examples of interesting source classes are binary black hole systems, rotation and accretion powered neutron stars, Microquasars, Active Galactic…
X-ray polarimetry promises to give qualitatively new information about high-energy astrophysical sources, such as binary black hole systems, micro-quasars, active galactic nuclei, and gamma-ray bursts. We designed, built and tested a hard…
The development of multi-layer optics which allow to focus photons up to 100 keV and more promises an enormous jump in sensitivity in the hard X-ray energy band. This technology is already planned to be exploited by future missions…
The constantly improving sensitivity of ground-based and space-borne observatories has made possible the detection of high-energy emission (X-rays and gamma-rays) from several thousands of extragalactic sources. Enormous progress has been…
The measurement of the linear polarization is one of the hot topics of High Energy Astrophysics. Gas detectors based on photoelectric effect have paved the way for the design of sensitive instruments and mission proposals based on them have…
A high-energy photon polarimeter for astrophysics studies in the energy range from 10 MeV to 800 MeV is considered. The proposed concept uses a stack of silicon micro-strip detectors where they play the roles of both a converter and a…
The maturity of current detectors based on technologies that range from solid state to gases renewed the interest for X-ray polarimetry, raising the enthusiasm of a wide scientific community to improve the performance of polarimeters as…
Accessing the polarization of photon allows to understand the mechanisms behind its emission or scattering, revealing much about a peculiar environment or a probed object. For energy above $\sim$10~MeV, the pair production dominates the…