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The Stellar X-Ray Polarimeter for the Spectrum-X-Gamma Mission

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

P. Kaaret ,
R. Novick ,
C. Martin ,
P. Shaw ,
J.R. Fleischman ,
T. Hamilton ,
R. Sunyaev ,
I. Lapshov ,
E. Silver  and
K. Ziock
...Show all authors
P. Kaaret
Affiliation:
Columbia Astropliysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY
R. Novick
Affiliation:
Columbia Astropliysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY
C. Martin
Affiliation:
Columbia Astropliysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY
P. Shaw
Affiliation:
Columbia Astropliysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY
J.R. Fleischman
Affiliation:
Columbia Astropliysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY
T. Hamilton
Affiliation:
Columbia Astropliysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY
R. Sunyaev
Affiliation:
Space Research Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences, USSR
I. Lapshov
Affiliation:
Space Research Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences, USSR
E. Silver
Affiliation:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA
K. Ziock
Affiliation:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA
M. Weisskopf
Affiliation:
NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL
R. Elsner
Affiliation:
NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL
B. Ramsey
Affiliation:
NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL
G. Chanan
Affiliation:
University of California, Irvine, CA
G. Manzo
Affiliation:
IFCAI/CNR, Palermo, Italy
S. Giarrusso
Affiliation:
IFCAI/CNR, Palermo, Italy
A. Santangelo
Affiliation:
IFCAI/CNR, Palermo, Italy
E. Costa
Affiliation:
IAS/CNR, Frascati, Italy
L. Piro
Affiliation:
IAS/CNR, Frascati, Italy
G. Fraser
Affiliation:
University of Leicester, UK
J.F. Pearson
Affiliation:
University of Leicester, UK
J.E. Lees
Affiliation:
University of Leicester, UK
G.C. Perola
Affiliation:
University of Rome, Italy
E. Massaro
Affiliation:
University of Rome, Italy
G. Matt
Affiliation:
University of Rome, Italy

Abstract

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We describe an X-ray polarimeter which will be flown on the SPECTRUM-X-Gamma mission. The instrument exploits three distinct physical processes to measure polarization: Bragg reflection from a graphite crystal, Thomson scattering from a metallic lithium target, and photoemission from a Cesium Iodide photocathode. These three processes allow polarization measurements over an energy band of 0.3 keV to 12 keV. The polarimeter will make possible sensitive measurements of several hundred known X-ray sources. X-ray polarization measurements will allow us to constrain the geometry of gas flow in X-ray binaries, identify nonthermal emission in supernova remnants, test current models for X-ray emission in radio pulsars, determine the radiation mechanisms in active galactic nuclei, and search for inertial frame dragging (Lense-Thirring effect) around the putative black hole in Cygnus X-1.

Type
Contributed Papers
Information
International Astronomical Union Colloquium , Volume 123: Observatories in Earth Orbit and Beyond , 1990 , pp. 443 - 449
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer 1990

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