Prospects for Hard X-Ray Solar Flare Polarimetry with RHESSI

Details Prospects for Hard X-Ray Solar Flare Polarimetry with RHESSI Prospects for Hard X-Ray Solar Flare Polarimetry with RHESSI

Jan 2002

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002mwoc.conf..431m&link_type=abstract

Multi-Wavelength Observations of Coronal Structure and Dynamics -- Yohkoh 10th Anniversary Meeting. Proceedings of the conferenc

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Although designed primarily as a hard X-ray imager and spectrometer, the High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (HESSI) is also capable of measuring the polarization of hard X-rays (30-100 keV) from solar flares. This capability arises from the inclusion of a small unobstructed Be scattering element that is strategically located within the cryostat that houses the array of nine Germanium detectors. The Germanium detectors are segmented, with both a front and rear active volume. Low energy photons (below about 100 keV) can reach a rear segment of a Ge detector only indirectly, by scattering. Low energy photons from the Sun have a direct path to the Be and have a high probability of Compton scattering into a rear segment of a Ge detector. The azimuthal distribution of these scattered photons carries with it a signature of the linear polarization of the incident flux. Prelimary estimates suggested that a 30-100 keV polarization sensitivity of less than a few percent could be achieved for X-class flares. We shall describe this detection process in detail and present the latest results from detailed simulations of the polarimetric capability of HESSI. We will also review some of the practical issues with regards to the analysis of HESSI data that may be important for polarization studies. Finally, we shall present a status report on our efforts to measure polarization.

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