Computer Science – Performance
Scientific paper
Sep 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006head....9.1910z&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, HEAD meeting #9, #19.10; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.394
Computer Science
Performance
Scientific paper
Laue lenses for focusing gamma rays in the energy range from roughly 100 keV up to a few MeV have been successfully demonstrated in the laboratory and on balloon flights. These telescopes concentrate gamma rays onto a small, distant focal plane detector by utilizing Bragg reflection within the volume of suitably arranged crystals. Thus collection and detection area are decoupled, enabling a significant reduction of background - which roughly scales with detector volume and constitutes the sensitivity limit of today's low to medium energy gamma-ray telescopes.
In order to achieve the best possible sensitivity, the focal plane instrument needs excellent background rejection capabilities, high photo-peak efficiency, and good energy resolution. Different options to achieve these goals exist, and have to be carefully balanced: For example, an active shield can be used to reduce cosmic photon background at the expense of higher background due to activation; Compton scattering can be used for background rejection, but requiring resolvable Compton scatters also reduces the photo-peak efficiency; the detector could e.g. consist of Germanium with excellent energy resolution but higher cooling requirements, or of CZT with less stringent cooling requirements but worse energy resolution.
We have started to explore some of the possible detector configurations, and will compare different focal plane instruments based on their narrow line, continuum, and polarization sensitivity. For this purpose simulations of the expected space radiation environment (including activation) have been performed with MGGPOD. The MEGAlib package was used to determine the achievable performance of those detectors, in an evaluation that includes each detector's individual properties such as energy and position resolution, thresholds, etc.
CBW thanks the Townes Fellowship at UC Berkeley for support.
Barrière Nicolas
Boggs Steven E.
Caroli Ezio
Knoedlseder Juergen
von Ballmoos Peter.
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