Design, Construction, and Test of the Gas Pixel Detectors for the IXPE Mission
arXiv:2107.05496 · doi:10.1016/j.astropartphys.2021.102628
Abstract
Due to be launched in late 2021, the Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) is a NASA Small Explorer mission designed to perform polarization measurements in the 2-8 keV band, complemented with imaging, spectroscopy and timing capabilities. At the heart of the focal plane is a set of three polarization-sensitive Gas Pixel Detectors (GPD), each based on a custom ASIC acting as a charge-collecting anode. In this paper we shall review the design, manufacturing, and test of the IXPE focal-plane detectors, with particular emphasis on the connection between the science drivers, the performance metrics and the operational aspects. We shall present a thorough characterization of the GPDs in terms of effective noise, trigger efficiency, dead time, uniformity of response, and spectral and polarimetric performance. In addition, we shall discuss in detail a number of instrumental effects that are relevant for high-level science analysis -- particularly as far as the response to unpolarized radiation and the stability in time are concerned.
To be published in Astroparticle Physics
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Cited by in corpus (57)
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- An algorithm to calibrate and correct the response to unpolarized radiation of the X-ray polarimeter on board IXPE
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- X-ray polarimetry of X-ray pulsar X Persei: another orthogonal rotator?
- Complex variations of X-ray polarization in the X-ray pulsar LS V +44 17/RX J0440.9+4431
- The IXPE Instrument Calibration Equipment
- X-Ray Polarized View on the Accretion Geometry in the X-Ray Binary Circinus X-1
- Unbinned Likelihood Analysis for X-ray Polarization
- Ultrasoft state of microquasar Cygnus X-3: X-ray polarimetry reveals the geometry of astronomical puzzle
- X-ray polarimetry of the accreting pulsar GX 301-2
- A polarimetrically oriented X-ray stare at the accreting pulsar EXO 2030+375
- Discovery of a strong rotation of the X-ray polarization angle in the galactic burster GX 13+1
- New polarimetric study of the galactic X-ray burster GX 13+1
- Detection of X-ray polarized emission and accretion-disk winds with IXPE and NICER in the black-hole X-ray binary 4U 1630-47
- Studying geometry of the ultraluminous X-ray pulsar Swift J0243.6+6124 using X-ray and optical polarimetry
- XPOL-III: a New-Generation VLSI CMOS ASIC for High-Throughput X-ray Polarimetry
- X-ray spectro-polarimetric characterization of GX 340+0 in the horizontal branch: a highly inclined source?
- Probing the polarized emission from SMC X-1: the brightest X-ray pulsar observed by IXPE
- Discovery of a shock-compressed magnetic field in the north-western rim of the young supernova remnant RX J1713.7-3946 with X-ray polarimetry
- Spectropolarimetric study of 4U 163047 in Steep Power law state with IXPE and NICER
- Variability of X-ray polarization of Cyg X-1
- Flux-resolved Spectropolarimetric Evolution of the X-Ray Pulsar Hercules X-1 Using IXPE
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- NinjaSat: Astronomical X-ray CubeSat Observatory
- Analysis of the data from photoelectric gas polarimeters
- Joint machine learning and analytic track reconstruction for X-ray polarimetry with gas pixel detectors
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- Study of space charge phenomena in GEM-based detectors
- Advanced Weights for IXPE Polarization Analysis
- The Instrument of the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer
- Polarized X-rays Correlated with Short--Timescale Variability of Cygnus X-1
- Polarization properties of X-ray tubes used for Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer calibration
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- Equalizing the Pixel Response of the Imaging Photoelectric Polarimeter On-Board the IXPE Mission
- Mitigating Polarization Leakage in Gas Pixel Detectors through Hybrid Machine Learning and Analytic Event Reconstruction
- IXPE view of the Sco-like source GX 349+2 in the normal branch
- First Detection of X-ray Polarization and Its Short-term Increase Pre- and Post-Eclipse in HMXB 4U 1700-377
- Spatially resolved polarization variation of the Crab Nebula
- Probing the polarized emission from the accretion-powered pulsar 4U 1907+09 with IXPE
- Neural network analysis of X-ray polarimeter data
- Accounting for systematic uncertainties in the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) detector response
- A significant detection of X-ray Polarization in Sco X-1 with PolarLight and constraints on the corona geometry
- Magnetic-field Order in the Southwestern Rim of RCW 86 Constrained Using X-Ray Polarimetry
- Instruments for Focal Plane X-Ray Polarimetry in the Next Decade
- Analysis of Polarimetry Data with Angular Uncertainties
- X-Ray Polarization Study of Pulsar Wind Nebulae with eXTP: Simulation Results and Scientific Prospects