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An Algorithm to Calibrate and Correct the Response to Unpolarized Radiation of the X-Ray Polarimeter Onboard IXPE

Journal Article · · The Astronomical Journal
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [4];  [2];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [3];  [8];  [9];  [3];  [7] more »;  [3] « less
  1. Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali di Roma (Italy); Università di Roma Sapienza (Italy); Univ. degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata (Italy); SLAC
  2. Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali di Roma (Italy)
  3. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Huntsville, AL (United States)
  4. INAF/Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, Selargius (CA) (Italy)
  5. Univ. of Pisa (Italy); Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare. Pisa (Italy)
  6. SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
  7. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare. Pisa (Italy)
  8. INAF/Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Monte Porzio Catone (RM) (Italy)
  9. Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Rome (Italy)
+ Show Author Affiliations
The Gas Pixel Detector (GPD) is an X-ray polarimeter to fly onboard IXPE and other missions. To correctly measure the source polarization, the response of IXPE’s GPDs to unpolarized radiation has to be calibrated and corrected. In this paper, we describe the way such response is measured with laboratory sources and the algorithm to apply such correction to the observations of celestial sources. The latter allows to correct the response to polarization of single photons, therefore allowing great flexibility in all the subsequent analysis. Our correction approach is tested against both monochromatic and nonmonochromatic laboratory sources and with simulations, finding that it correctly retrieves the polarization up to the statistical limits of the planned IXPE observations.
Research Organization:
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
Italian Space Agency; NASA; USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Contributing Organization:
KIPAC
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-76SF00515
OSTI ID:
1854149
Journal Information:
The Astronomical Journal, Journal Name: The Astronomical Journal Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 163; ISSN 0004-6256
Publisher:
IOP PublishingCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (13)

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The enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry mission—eXTP journal December 2018
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Design, construction, and test of the Gas Pixel Detectors for the IXPE mission journal December 2021
The IXPE instrument calibration equipment journal March 2022
Direct reading of charge multipliers with a self-triggering CMOS analog chip with 105k pixels at 50μm pitch
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journal October 2006
A sealed Gas Pixel Detector for X-ray astronomy
  • Bellazzini, R.; Spandre, G.; Minuti, M.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 579, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2007.05.304
journal September 2007
An efficient photoelectric X-ray polarimeter for the study of black holes and neutron stars journal June 2001
Re-detection and a possible time variation of soft X-ray polarization from the Crab journal May 2020
A precision measurement of the X-ray polarization of the Crab Nebula without pulsar contamination journal March 1978
The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) conference July 2016
Outcomes of the IXPE instrument calibration conference January 2021
The Instrument of the Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer journal October 2021

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Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
Polarimeters
X-ray detectors
X-ray observatories
X-ray telescopes