Design of the Telescope Truss and Gondola for the Balloon-Borne X-ray Polarimeter X-Calibur

Journal of Astronomical Instrumentation

K. KUEHN¹  R. HUPE² 

[1] Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA;Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA

关键词: Balloons;    X-rays: general;    instrumentation: polarimeters;    telescopes;   

DOI  :  10.1142/S2251171717400037

学科分类：天文学(综合)

来源: World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.

【 摘 要 】

X-ray polarimetry has seen a growing interest in recent years. Improvements in detector technology and focusing X-ray optics now enable sensitive astrophysical X-ray polarization measurements. These measurements will provide new insights into the processes at work in accreting black holes, the emission of X-rays from neutron stars and magnetars, and the structure of AGN jets. X-Calibur is a balloon-borne hard X-ray scattering polarimeter. An X-ray mirror with a focal length of 8m focuses X-rays onto the detector, which consists of a plastic scattering element surrounded by Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride detectors, which absorb and record the scattered X-rays. Since X-rays preferentially scatter perpendicular to their polarization direction, the polarization properties of an X-ray beam can be inferred from the azimuthal distribution of scattered X-rays. A close alignment of the X-ray focal spot with the center of the detector is required in order to reduce systematic uncertainties and to maintain a high photon det...

【 授权许可】

Unknown