Related papers: An X-ray Polarimeter for Constellation-X
Modern dual-polarization receivers allow a radio telescope to characterize the full polarization state of incoming insterstellar radio waves. Many astronomers incorrectly consider a polarimeter to be the "backend" of the telescope. We go to…
The polarization state of starlight reflected by a planetary atmosphere uniquely reveals coverage, particle size, and composition of aerosols as well as changing cloud patterns. It is not possible to obtain a comparable level of detailed…
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 have built and tested a compact, low-cost, but very-high-performance astronomical polarimeter based on a continuously rotating half-wave plate and a high-speed imaging detector. The polarimeter is suitable for small telescopes up to ~1 m…
The polarization of x-rays plays an outstanding role in experimental techniques such as non-resonant magnetic x-ray scattering and resonant x-ray scattering of magnetic and multipolar order. Different instrumental methods applied to…
Polarization is one of light's most versatile degrees of freedom for both classical and quantum applications. The ability to measure light's state of polarization and changes therein is thus essential; this is the science of polarimetry. It…
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, neutron stars, and gamma-ray bursts. We designed, built and…
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…
X-ray polarimetry has great scientific potential and new experiments, such as X-Calibur, PoGOLite, XIPE, and GEMS, will not only be orders of magnitude more sensitive than previous missions, but also provide the capability to measure…
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…
The polarization of final-state photons is a critical observable for probing the fundamental mechanisms of particle and nuclear interactions, providing insights into spin and parity structure that are inaccessible through cross-section…
Polarimetry provides key physical information on the properties of interacting binary systems, sometimes difficult to obtain by any other type of observation. Indeed, radiation processes such as scattering by free electrons in the hot…
Well over 700 exoplanets have been detected to date. Only a handful of these have been observed directly. Direct observation is extremely challenging due to the small separation and very large contrast involved. Imaging polarimetry offers a…
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…
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 present commissioning data for the POLISH instrument obtained on the Hale 5-m telescope. The goal of this high precision polarimeter is to constrain orbital inclination of high mass X-ray binaries and to therefore obtain independent mass…
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…
The use of polarimetric techniques is nowadays widespread among solar and stellar astronomers. However, notwithstanding the recommandations that have often been made about the publication of polarimetric results in the astronomical…
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…
Imaging polarimetry is a powerful tool for detecting and characterizing exoplanets and circumstellar environments. Polarimetry allows a separation of the light coming from an unpolarized source such as a star and the polarized source such…