Abstract
Abstract Instruments flown on CubeSats are small. Meaningful applications of CubeSats in astronomical observations rely on the choice of a particular subject that is feasible for CubeSats. Here we report the result of a feasibility study for observing gamma-ray polarization from Cygnus X-1 using a small Compton polarimeter on board a 3U CubeSat. Silicon detectors and cerium bromide scintillators were employed in the instrument models that we discuss in this study. Through Monte Carlo simulations with a Geant4-based MEGAlib package, we found that, with a 10 Ms on-axis, zenith-direction observation in a low-inclination, low-altitude, Earth-orbit radiation background environment, the minimum detectable polarization degree can be down to about 10% in 160–250 keV, 20% in 250–400 keV, and 65% in 400–2000 keV. A 3U CubeSat dedicated to observing Cygnus X-1 can therefore yield useful information on the polarization state of gamma-ray emissions from the brightest persistent X-ray black hole binary in the sky.
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