Status of the Gamma Ray Polarimeter Experiment (GRAPE)

Details Status of the Gamma Ray Polarimeter Experiment (GRAPE) Status of the Gamma Ray Polarimeter Experiment (GRAPE)

Sep 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006head....9.1827m&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, HEAD meeting #9, #18.27; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.386

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

Scientific paper

We present the current status of the gamma-ray polarimetry experiment (GRAPE) project to measure linear polarization in gamma-ray bursts and solar flares in the hard X-ray range (50-300 keV). Polarimetry measurements offer a new way to investigate physical geometries and emission mechanisms in high-energy astrophysical sources. Each GRAPE detector consists of an array of plastic scintillators and high-Z calorimeter crystals read out by a single multi-anode photomultiplier tube (MAPMT). X-ray photons Compton scatter in the plastic elements and are subsequently absorbed in the calorimeter elements, and the azimuthal scattering angle and total energy are recorded. The degree of asymmetry in the distribution of scatter angles reveals the degree of linear polarization in the incident X-rays. We present our latest laboratory test results and describe plans for a balloon flight of a prototype and for a full balloon-borne science payload. Monte Carlo simulations indicate that an array of 25 GRAPE detectors carried on a scientific balloon would be sensitive to polarization levels of 5% or less for a M5 solar flare in a 5 minute exposure, and to levels of 30% for gamma-ray bursts that can be expected to be observed every 10 days.

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