Technical Aspects of a Germanium Calorimeter for Space-BorneGamma-Ray Detection
Our scientific objective is to search for high energy annihilation lines from dark matter candidate particles and to measure the diffuse {gamma}-ray spectrum as a probe of cosmological distances and volumes. To pursue this objective we need a detector that has good energy resolution, better than 1% at 3 GeV. Such resolution is required to identify {gamma}-ray lines which are separated by {approx} hundred MeV at energies of a few Gev and to separate these lines from the continuum background produced by high galactic latitude cosmic ray collisions. The detector must be able to locate or map sources. The directional accuracy required for pointing to the galactic center or to known pulsars is on the order of l{sup o} (16mrad) or better. To avoid degradation of signal by the atmosphere, the detector must be flown in space. The expected signal is low, suggesting that an exposure of something like 1 m{sup 2}-yr is required to gather a statistically significant number of events. In this document we will look at alternative methods for detection of high energy {gamma}-ray lines in space and argue that a fully active Ge volume is the optimum detector that can be built.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Director, Office of Science
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC02-05CH11231
- OSTI ID:
- 893045
- Report Number(s):
- LBL-25514; TRN: US200625%%75
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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