Gamma-Ray Burst Polarimeter (GAP) aboard the Small Solar Power Sail Demonstrator IKAROS

Abstract

Abstract The small solar-power sail demonstrator ``IKAROS'' is a Japanese engineering verification spacecraft launched by the H-IIA rocket on 2010 May 21 at Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Tanegashima Space Center. IKAROS has a 20 m diameter sail, which is made of a thin polyimide membrane. The sail converts the solar radiation-pressure into the propulsion force of IKAROS, and accelerates the spacecraft. The Gamma-Ray Burst Polarimeter (GAP) aboard IKAROS is the first polarimeter specifically designed to measure the polarization of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) from space, and will do so in the cruising phase of the IKAROS mission. GAP is a modest detector of 3.8 kg in weight and 17 cm in size with an energy range of between 50–300 keV. The GAP detector is now a member of the interplanetary network (IPN) for determining the GRB direction. The detection principle of gamma-ray polarization is the anisotropy of the Compton scattering. Coincidence between the central plastic Compton scattering medium and discrete CsI detectors distributed around the sides of the plastic defines the Compton-scattering angle, which is expected to show an angular dependence if polarization is present in a given GRB. In this paper, we present the GAP detector and its ground-based and onboard calibrations.