A negative ion time projection chamber x-ray polarimeter for transient sources

Zachary R. Prieskorn; J. Kevin Black; Joanne E. Hill; Michael J. Strube; Christian E. Urba; Keith M. Jahoda; Philip E. Kaaret

doi:10.1117/12.857665

29 July 2010 A negative ion time projection chamber x-ray polarimeter for transient sources

Zachary R. Prieskorn, J. Kevin Black, Joanne E. Hill, Michael J. Strube, Christian E. Urba, Keith M. Jahoda, Philip E. Kaaret

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7732, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2010: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray; 77322Z (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.857665
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2010, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

A gamma-ray burst polarimeter (GRBP) is being developed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for measuring the Xray polarization of energetic transients in the 2 - 10 keV energy range. The primary goal is to measure the polarization of the prompt X-ray emission from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in order to distinguish between the possible emission mechanisms. The instrument could also be capable of measuring polarization from other X-ray transients, such as soft gamma repeaters (SGRs) or black hole transients. An instrument with a wide field of view is required to detect transient events and a large collecting area is required to have sufficient sensitivity. The GRBP is a time projection chamber (TPC) that uses negative ions as a charge carrier enabling a large volume, high spatial resolution detector. We describe a GRBP prototype that is suitable for a sounding rocket measurement of the Crab Nebula or for measurements of bright transient sources from a small satellite.

Citation Download Citation

Zachary R. Prieskorn, J. Kevin Black, Joanne E. Hill, Michael J. Strube, Christian E. Urba, Keith M. Jahoda, and Philip E. Kaaret "A negative ion time projection chamber x-ray polarimeter for transient sources", Proc. SPIE 7732, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2010: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 77322Z (29 July 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.857665

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