Soft gamma-ray polarimetry with COSI using maximum likelihood analysis

TL;DR

This paper discusses how the COSI gamma-ray telescope uses maximum likelihood analysis of Compton scattering data to improve measurements of polarization in high-energy astrophysical sources like pulsars and gamma-ray bursts.

Contribution

It introduces a maximum likelihood method for polarization analysis with COSI, enhancing sensitivity over traditional binning techniques.

Findings

Demonstrates the application of maximum likelihood analysis to COSI data

Shows improved polarization sensitivity with the new method

Plans for future implementation and analysis of COSI data

Abstract

Measurements of the linear polarization of high-energy emission from pulsars, accreting black holes, and gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) provide an opportunity for constraining the emission mechanisms and geometries (e.g., of the accretion disk, jet, magnetic field, etc.) in the sources. For photons in the soft (MeV) gamma-ray band, Compton scattering is the most likely interaction to occur in detectors. Compton telescopes detect multiple interactions from individual incoming photons, allowing for scattering angles to be measured. After many photons are detected from a source, the distribution of azimuthal angles provides polarization information. While the standard method relies on binning the photons to produce and fit an azimuthal scattering angle distribution, improved polarization sensitivity is obtained by using additional information to more accurately weight each event's contribution to the likelihood statistic. In this chapter, we describe the Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) and its capabilities for polarization measurements. We also describe the maximum likelihood technique, its application to COSI data analysis, and plans for its future use.