Performance of the PRAXyS X-ray Polarimeter

Abstract

The performance of the Time Projection Chamber (TPC) polarimeter for the Polarimeter for Relativistic Astrophysical X-ray Sources (PRAXyS) Small Explorer was evaluated using polarized and unpolarized X-ray sources. The PRAXyS mission will enable exploration of the universe through X-ray polarimetry in the 2-10 keV energy band. We carried out performance tests of the polarimeter at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, National Synchrotron Light Source (BNL-NSLS) and at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The polarimeter was tested with linearly polarized, monochromatic X-rays at 11 different energies between 2.5 and 8.0 keV. At maximum sensitivity, the measured modulation factors at 2.7, 4.5 and 8.0 keV are 27%, 43% and 59%, respectively and the measured angle of polarization is consistent with the expected value at all energies. Measurements with a broadband, unpolarized X-ray source placed a limit of less than 1% on false polarization in the PRAXyS polarimeter.

arXiv comment8 pages, 10 figures, accepted for Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A

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• Instrumentation and Future Missions in the Upcoming Era of X-Ray Polarimetry
• Simulation of a Xe-based X-ray Polarimeter at 10-30 keV
• Neural network analysis of X-ray polarimeter data
• Performance of the X-Calibur Hard X-Ray Polarimetry Mission during its 2018/19 Long-Duration Balloon Flight