Single-layer Compton detectors for measurement of polarization correlations of annihilation quanta

Abstract

Measurement of gamma-ray polarization can provide valuable insight in different areas of physics research. One possible application is in Positron Emission Tomography, where the annihilation quanta with orthogonal polarizations are emitted. Since polarization can be measured via Compton scattering, the initial orthogonality of polarizations can be translated to correlation of azimuthal scattering angles, and this correlation may be exploited as an additional handle to identify the true coincidence events. In order to examine the concept of utilizing the polarization correlations in PET, we have used a system of two compact, position and energy-sensitive Compton scattering detectors in coincidence mode. Each consists of a single matrix of scintillation pixels, read-out by a matching array of Silicon photomultipliers on the back side. The Compton events in each module are clearly identified and the scattering angles are reconstructed from the energy deposition and event topology. We have extracted the polarimetric modulation factors from the measured azimuthal scattering angles of the two Compton-scattered gammas and studied their dependence on Compton scattering angles θ and on azimuthal resolution Δϕ. For scattering angles around θ1,2=82∘, where the maximum modulation is expected, the modulation factors from μ=0.15±0.01 to μ=0.27±0.02 have been measured, depending on the azimuthal resolution, which is governed by event topology in the detectors. Analogously, for scattering around θ1,2=70∘, modulation factors from μ=0.12±0.01 to μ=0.21±0.02 have been obtained. The results show that the measurement of the polarization correlations of annihilation quanta are feasible with compact single-layer, single-side read-out detectors, which may be used to build cost-efficient systems for various applications where gamma-ray polarization information is of interest.