Gamma-ray instrument for polarimetry, spectroscopy, and imaging (GIPSI)

Richard A. Kroeger; W. Neil Johnson III; Robert L. Kinzer; James D. Kurfess; Susan E. Inderhees; Bernard F. Phlips; Brad Graham

doi:10.1117/12.254024

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18 October 1996 Gamma-ray instrument for polarimetry, spectroscopy, and imaging (GIPSI)

Richard A. Kroeger, W. Neil Johnson III, Robert L. Kinzer, James D. Kurfess, Susan E. Inderhees, Bernard F. Phlips, Brad Graham

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Proceedings Volume 2806, Gamma-Ray and Cosmic-Ray Detectors, Techniques, and Missions; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.254024
Event: SPIE's 1996 International Symposium on Optical Science, Engineering, and Instrumentation, 1996, Denver, CO, United States

Abstract

We present an instrument concept called GIPSI that uses germanium strip detectors in an imaging system to provide narrow line sensitivity less than 8.0 multiplied by 10^-6 gamma cm^-2s^-1 at 100 keV in a 2 week exposure (3 sigma), and which has a point spread function (spatial resolution of approximately 20 arc minutes rms. The germanium strip detectors also make an excellent polarimeter by capitalizing on the angular dependence of the Compton scattering cross section. Gamma-ray polarimetry in the energy band around 60 - 300 keV is an interesting area of high energy astrophysics where observations have not been possible with the technologies employed in current and past space missions. We have tested a prototype detector with polarized beams and have measured a modulation factor of approximately 0.8 at 100 keV. A sensitive instrument can be realized on a modest space mission or a long duration balloon flight. Linear polarization can be detected in sources such as the Crab Pulsar, Cen A, Cyg X-1, and solar flares down to less than 5% of the source flux. The proposed instrument would have a collecting area of 400 cm².

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Richard A. Kroeger, W. Neil Johnson III, Robert L. Kinzer, James D. Kurfess, Susan E. Inderhees, Bernard F. Phlips, and Brad Graham "Gamma-ray instrument for polarimetry, spectroscopy, and imaging (GIPSI)", Proc. SPIE 2806, Gamma-Ray and Cosmic-Ray Detectors, Techniques, and Missions, (18 October 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.254024

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