Soft gamma-ray optics: new Laue lens design and performance estimates

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent advances in Laue lens technology for soft gamma-ray astronomy, presenting a new lens design with performance estimates that could enable high-sensitivity, high-resolution telescopes in the 100 keV to 1.5 MeV range.

Contribution

It introduces a novel 20 m focal length Laue lens design optimized with mosaic crystals for enhanced gamma-ray focusing and imaging performance.

Findings

The new lens design achieves high reflectivity across sub-energy ranges.

Simulation results show promising imaging capabilities.

Performance estimates suggest potential for high-sensitivity gamma-ray telescopes.

Abstract

Laue lenses are an emerging technology based on diffraction in crystals that allows the concentration of soft gamma rays. This kind of optics that works in the 100 keV - 1.5 MeV band can be used to realize an high-sensitivity and high-angular resolution telescope (in a narrow field of view). This paper reviews the recent progresses that have been done in the development of efficient crystals, in the design study and in the modelisation of the answer of Laue lenses. Through the example of a new concept of 20 m focal length lens focusing in the 100 keV - 600 keV band, the performance of a telescope based on a Laue lens is presented. This lens uses the most efficient mosaic crystals in each sub-energy range in order to yield the maximum reflectivity. Imaging capabilities are investigated and shows promising results.