GRAPE: a balloon-borne gamma-ray polarimeter

Mark L. McConnell; Christopher Bancroft; Peter F. Bloser; Taylor Connor; Jason Legere; James M. Ryan

doi:10.1117/12.826407

20 August 2009 GRAPE: a balloon-borne gamma-ray polarimeter

Mark L. McConnell, Christopher Bancroft, Peter F. Bloser, Taylor Connor, Jason Legere, James M. Ryan

Proceedings Volume 7435, UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XVI; 74350J (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.826407
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2009, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The Gamma-RAy Polarimeter Experiment (GRAPE) is a concept for an astronomical hard X-ray Compton polarimeter operating in the 50 - 500 keV energy band. The instrument has been optimized for wide-field polarization measurements of transient outbursts from energetic astrophysical objects such as gamma-ray bursts and solar flares. The GRAPE instrument is composed of identical modules, each of which consists of an array of scintillator elements read out by a multi-anode photomultiplier tube (MAPMT). Incident photons Compton scatter in plastic scintillator elements and are subsequently absorbed in inorganic scintillator elements; a net polarization signal is revealed by a characteristic asymmetry in the azimuthal scattering angles. We have constructed a prototype GRAPE module that has been calibrated at a polarized hard X-ray beam and flown on an engineering balloon test flight. A full-scale scientific balloon payload, consisting of up to 36 modules, is currently under development. The first flight, a one-day flight scheduled for 2011, will verify the expected scientific performance with a pointed observation of the Crab Nebula. We will then propose long-duration balloon flights to observe gamma-ray bursts and solar flares.

Citation Download Citation

Mark L. McConnell, Christopher Bancroft, Peter F. Bloser, Taylor Connor, Jason Legere, and James M. Ryan "GRAPE: a balloon-borne gamma-ray polarimeter", Proc. SPIE 7435, UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XVI, 74350J (20 August 2009); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.826407

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