MAX: a gamma-ray lens for nuclear astrophysics

Peter von Ballmoos; Hubert Halloin; Gerald K. Skinner; Robert K. Smither; Jaques Paul; Nikolai V. Abrosimov; Jose Manuel Alvarez; Pierre Astier; Pierre Bastie; Didier Barret; Angela Bazzano; Arnaud Boutonnet; Pascal Brousse; Bertrand Cordier; Thierry Courvoisier; Guido Di Cocco; Andrea Giuliani; Bernard Hamelin; Margarida Hernanz; Pierre Jean; Jordi Isern; Jurrgen Knödlseder; Phillipe Laurent; Francois Lebrun; Alexandre Marcowith; Vincent Martinot; Lorenzo Natalucci; Jean-Francois Olive; Reynald Pain; Rachida Sadat; Herve Sainct; Pietro Ubertini; Gilbert Vedrenne

doi:10.1117/12.509672

29 January 2004 MAX: a gamma-ray lens for nuclear astrophysics

Peter von Ballmoos, Hubert Halloin, Gerald K. Skinner, Robert K. Smither, Jaques Paul, Nikolai V. Abrosimov, Jose Manuel Alvarez, Pierre Astier, Pierre Bastie, Didier Barret, Angela Bazzano, Arnaud Boutonnet, Pascal Brousse, Bertrand Cordier, Thierry Courvoisier, Guido Di Cocco, Andrea Giuliani, Bernard Hamelin, Margarida Hernanz, Pierre Jean, Jordi Isern, Jurrgen Knödlseder, Phillipe Laurent, Francois Lebrun, Alexandre Marcowith, Vincent Martinot, Lorenzo Natalucci, Jean-Francois Olive, Reynald Pain, Rachida Sadat, Herve Sainct, Pietro Ubertini, Gilbert Vedrenne

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 5168, Optics for EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Astronomy; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.509672
Event: Optical Science and Technology, SPIE's 48th Annual Meeting, 2003, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The mission concept MAX is a space borne crystal diffraction telescope, featuring a broad-band Laue lens optimized for the observation of compact sources in two wide energy bands of high astrophysical relevance. For the first time in this domain, gamma-rays will be focused from the large collecting area of a crystal diffraction lens onto a very small detector volume. As a consequence, the background noise is extremely low, making possible unprecedented sensitivities. The primary scientific objective of MAX is the study of type Ia supernovae by measuring intensities, shifts and shapes of their nuclear gamma-ray lines. When finally understood and calibrated, these profoundly radioactive events will be crucial in measuring the size, shape, and age of the Universe. Observing the radioactivities from a substantial sample of supernovae and novae will significantly improve our understanding of explosive nucleosynthesis. Moreover, the sensitive gamma-ray line spectroscopy performed with MAX is expected to clarify the nature of galactic microquasars (e⁺e^- annihilation radiation from the jets), neutrons stars and pulsars, X-ray Binaries, AGN, solar flares and, last but not least, gamma-ray afterglow from gamma-burst counterparts.

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Peter von Ballmoos, Hubert Halloin, Gerald K. Skinner, Robert K. Smither, Jaques Paul, Nikolai V. Abrosimov, Jose Manuel Alvarez, Pierre Astier, Pierre Bastie, Didier Barret, Angela Bazzano, Arnaud Boutonnet, Pascal Brousse, Bertrand Cordier, Thierry Courvoisier, Guido Di Cocco, Andrea Giuliani, Bernard Hamelin, Margarida Hernanz, Pierre Jean, Jordi Isern, Jurrgen Knödlseder, Phillipe Laurent, Francois Lebrun, Alexandre Marcowith, Vincent Martinot, Lorenzo Natalucci, Jean-Francois Olive, Reynald Pain, Rachida Sadat, Herve Sainct, Pietro Ubertini, and Gilbert Vedrenne "MAX: a gamma-ray lens for nuclear astrophysics", Proc. SPIE 5168, Optics for EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Astronomy, (29 January 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.509672

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