Sensitivity of an advanced Compton telescope

Richard A. Kroeger; W. Neil Johnson; James D. Kurfess; Bernard F. Phlips; Eric A. Wulf

doi:10.1117/12.461474

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11 March 2003 Sensitivity of an Advanced Compton Telescope

Richard A. Kroeger, W. Neil Johnson, James D. Kurfess, Bernard F. Phlips, Eric A. Wulf

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Proceedings Volume 4851, X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Telescopes and Instruments for Astronomy; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.461474
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2002, Waikoloa, Hawai'i, United States

Abstract

The Advanced Compton Telescope (ACT) should provide well over an order-of-magnitude improvement in sensitivity compared to other previous or planned instruments in low-energy gamma-ray astronomy. This will be needed in the study of the nuclear line/MeV region of the gamma-ray spectrum. Such an instrument covers a broad range of science objectives, ranging from the study the ⁵⁶Ni light curves of supernovae and provide measurements of supernova dynamics, to ²⁶Al, ²²Na, and ⁶⁰Fe maps of the galaxy, and the first gamma-ray polarization observations probing the geometry of the emission regions of a variety of objects such as AGN, pulsars, and gamma ray bursts. These objectives depend critically on the sensitivity that can be achieved. We present a study of the sensitivity that can be achieved by the ACT, considering estimates of backgrounds, position resolution, energy resolution, Doppler broadening, and recoil electron tracking. Efficiency questions are considered that arise from passive materials within the active volume and track reconstruction. A sensitivity estimate for ACT is presented for a reasonable instrument size and configuration.

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Richard A. Kroeger, W. Neil Johnson, James D. Kurfess, Bernard F. Phlips, and Eric A. Wulf "Sensitivity of an Advanced Compton Telescope", Proc. SPIE 4851, X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Telescopes and Instruments for Astronomy, (11 March 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.461474

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