Hard X-ray Photoelectric Polarimeter
Project Description
Our objective is to determine the gas mixtures and pressures that would enable a sensitive, hard X-ray polarimeter using existing flight components with the goal of making astrophysical measurements using the InFOCμS hard X-ray optics on a long duration balloon flight. Photoelectric allows high sensitivity, low systematics polarization measurements, and photoelectric absorption remains the dominant interaction. The broad outline is to measure the characteristics of mixtures, retrofit detectors for high pressure operation, and prepare for a balloon flight using the InFocus balloon payload to pave the way to a dedicated mission.
More »Anticipated Benefits
Several groups are developing polarimeters by exploiting the angular and polarization dependence of Compton scattering. Photoelectric polarization appears competitively sensitive as well as simpler (mining the information encoded in the photoelectron track requires measuring only the azimuth of the track whereas taking full advantage of the Compton scattering requires measurement of the azimuth as well as the angle with respect to the incident direction). Simulations show that such a detector has significant sensitivity where the minimum detectable polarization (MDP) can be lower for a 60 hr balloon flight.
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Primary U.S. Work Locations and Key Partners
| Organizations Performing Work | Role | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
Goddard Space Flight Center
(GSFC)
|
Lead Organization | NASA Center | Greenbelt, Maryland |
Primary U.S. Work Locations
-
Maryland
