High energy photon polarimeter for astrophysics

TL;DR

This paper proposes a silicon micro-strip detector-based polarimeter for high-energy astrophysics, capable of measuring photon polarization with 6% accuracy above 100 MeV over a year, representing a significant advancement in the field.

Contribution

It introduces a novel polarimeter design using silicon micro-strip detectors for high-energy photons, with detailed parameter estimation and measurement productivity analysis.

Findings

Achieves 6% polarization measurement accuracy above 100 MeV in one year

Uses a stack of silicon micro-strip detectors as converter and tracker

Design can be adapted to different photon energy ranges

Abstract

A high-energy photon polarimeter for astrophysics studies in the energy range from 10 MeV to 800 MeV is considered. The proposed concept uses a stack of silicon micro-strip detectors where they play the roles of both a converter and a tracker. The purpose of this paper is to outline the parameters of such a polarimeter and to estimate the productivity of measurements. Our study supported by a Monte Carlo simulation shows that with a one-year observation period the polarimeter will provide 6% accuracy of the polarization degree for photon energies above 100 MeV, which would be a significant advance relative to the currently explored energy range of a few MeV. The proposed polarimeter design could easily be adjusted to the specific photon energy range to maximize efficiency if needed.