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Spectral and polarimetric characterization of the Gas Pixel Detector filled with dimethyl ether
- Source :
- Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment. 620:285-293
- Publication Year :
- 2010
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2010.
-
Abstract
- The Gas Pixel Detector belongs to the very limited class of gas detectors optimized for the measurement of X-ray polarization in the emission of astrophysical sources. The choice of the mixture in which X-ray photons are absorbed and photoelectrons propagate, deeply affects both the energy range of the instrument and its performance in terms of gain, track dimension and ultimately, polarimetric sensitivity. Here we present the characterization of the Gas Pixel Detector with a 1 cm thick cell filled with dimethyl ether (DME) at 0.79 atm, selected among other mixtures for the very low diffusion coefficient. Almost completely polarized and monochromatic photons were produced at the calibration facility built at INAF/IASF-Rome exploiting Bragg diffraction at nearly 45 degrees. For the first time ever, we measured the modulation factor and the spectral capabilities of the instrument at energies as low as 2.0 keV, but also at 2.6 keV, 3.7 keV, 4.0 keV, 5.2 keV and 7.8 keV. These measurements cover almost completely the energy range of the instrument and allows to compare the sensitivity achieved with that of the standard mixture, composed of helium and DME.<br />20 pages, 11 figures, 5 tables. Accepted for publication by NIMA
- Subjects :
- Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Photon
Physics::Instrumentation and Detectors
Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Polarimetry
FOS: Physical sciences
chemistry.chemical_element
Optics
X-rays
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)
Instrumentation
Helium
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)
Physics
Energy
X rays
business.industry
X-Ray Polarimeter
Detector
Bragg's law
Gas detectors
Photoelectric effect
Polarization (waves)
Pitch
chemistry
Monochromatic color
Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
business
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 01689002
- Volume :
- 620
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....79da41d561998f2f4a877134c87a7515