X-ray Polarization Measurements Research Articles

X-ray polarimetric signatures induced by spectral variability in the framework of the receding torus model

Obscuring circumnuclear dust is a well-established constituent of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Traditionally referred to as the receding dusty torus, its inner radius and angular extension should depend on the photo-ionizing luminosity of the central source. Using a Monte Carlo approach, we simulate the radiative transfer between the multiple components of an AGN adopting model constraints from the bright Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151. We compare our model results to the observed near-IR to UV polarization of the source and predict its X-ray polarization. We find that the 2-8 keV polarization fraction of a standard AGN model varies from less then a few percent along polar viewing angles up to tens of percent at equatorial inclinations. At viewing angles around the type-1/type-2 transition the X-ray polarization variability differs between a static or a receding torus scenario. In the former case, the expected 2-8 keV polarization of NGC 4151 is found to be 1.21% +/- 0.34% with a constant polarization position angle, while in the later scenario it varies from 0.1% to 6% depending on the photon index of the primary radiation. Additionally, an orthogonal rotation of the polarization position angle with photon energy appears for very soft primary spectra. Future X-ray polarimetry missions will be able to test if the receding model is valid for Seyfert galaxies seen at a viewing angle close to the torus horizon. The overall stability of the polarization position angle for photon indexes softer than {\Gamma} = 1.5 ensures that reliable measurements of X-ray polarization are possible. We derive a long-term observational strategy for NGC 4151 assuming observations with a small to medium-size X-ray polarimetry satellite.

Electric-field-temperature phase diagram of Mn-doped Bi0.5(Na0.9K0.1)0.5TiO3 ceramics

An electric field–temperature (E-T) phase diagram for a lead-free 0.5 mol. % Mn-doped Bi(Na0.1K0.9)TiO3 ceramics was investigated. The x-ray diffraction, dielectric and polarization measurements revealed relaxor behavior and were used to characterize the stability regions of the non-ergodic relaxor, ergodic relaxor and electric field induced ferroelectric states. As indicated by the polarization–current density profiles, transformation between two electric fields, induced ferroelectric states with opposite polarization direction arise via a two-step process through an intermediate relaxor state. Interplay between the ferroelectric state conversion and intermediate relaxor state is governed by the dynamics of polarization relaxation. The presented E-T phase diagram revealed the effects of the applied electric field and temperature on stability regions. This is of special interest since the Bi0.5(Na0.1K0.9)0.5TiO3 ceramics were proposed as a potential piezoceramic material.

Linear polarization of x-rays emitted in the decay of highly-charged ions via overlapping resonances

The linear polarization of x-rays, emitted from highly-charged ions, has been studied within the framework of the density matrix theory and the multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock method. Emphasis was placed especially on two-photon cascades that proceed via intermediate overlapping resonances. For such two-step cascades, we here explore how the level-splitting of the resonances affects the linear polarization of the x-rays, and whether modifications in the degree of polarization may help determine small level-splittings in multiply- and highly-charged ions, if carefully analyzed along isoelectronic sequences. Detailed calculations are carried out for the 1s2p2 Ji = 3/2 → 1s2s2p J = 1/2, 3/2 + γ1 → 1s22s Jf = 1/2 + γ1 + γ2 radiative cascade of lithium-like W71+ ions. For this cascade, a quite remarkable increase of the (degree of) linear polarization is found for the second-step γ2 photons, if the level-splitting becomes smaller than Δω ≲ 0.2 a.u. ≈ 5.4 eV. Accurate polarization measurements of x-rays may therefore be also utilized in the future to ascertain small level-splittings in multiply- and highly-charged ions.

Development of a hard x-ray focal plane compton polarimeter: a compact polarimetric configuration with scintillators and Si photomultipliers

X-ray polarization measurement of cosmic sources provides two unique parameters namely degree and angle of polarization which can probe the emission mechanism and geometry at close vicinity of the compact objects. Specifically, the hard X-ray polarimetry is more rewarding because the sources are expected to be intrinsically highly polarized at higher energies. With the successful implementation of Hard X-ray optics in NuSTAR, it is now feasible to conceive Compton polarimeters as focal plane detectors. Such a configuration is likely to provide sensitive polarization measurements in hard X-rays with a broad energy band. We are developing a focal plane hard X-ray Compton polarimeter consisting of a plastic scintillator as active scatterer surrounded by a cylindrical array of CsI(Tl) scintillators. The scatterer is 5 mm diameter and 100 mm long plastic scintillator (BC404) viewed by normal PMT. The photons scattered by the plastic scatterer are collected by a cylindrical array of 16 CsI(Tl) scintillators (5 mm x 5 mm x 150 mm) which are read by Si Photomultiplier (SiPM). Use of the new generation SiPMs ensures the compactness of the instrument which is essential for the design of focal plane detectors. The expected sensitivity of such polarimetric configuration and complete characterization of the plastic scatterer, specially at lower energies have been discussed in Chattopadhyay et al. (Exp. Astron. 35, 391-412, 2013; Astrophys. J. Suppl. 212, 12, 2014). In this paper, we characterize the CsI(Tl) absorbers coupled to SiPM. We also present the experimental results from the fully assembled configuration of the Compton polarimeter.

Combined linear polarization and angular distribution measurements of x-rays for precise determination of multipole-mixing in characteristic transitions of high-Z systems

By applying novel-type position sensitive x-ray detectors as Compton polarimeters we recently performed a study of the linear polarization of Lyman- radiation following radiative electron capture into initially bare uranium ions. It was found that a model-independent determination of the ratio of the E1 and M2 transition amplitudes, and consequently of the corresponding transition rates, is feasible by combining the linear polarization data with a measurement of the angular distribution of the emitted radiation. In this work a detailed description of the underlying experimental technique for combined measurements of the linear polarization and the angular distribution of characteristic transitions in high-Z ions is presented. Special emphasis is given to the application of two, two-dimensional position-sensitive x-ray detectors for Compton polarimetry of hard x-rays. Moreover, we demonstrate the polarimeter efficiency of such detector systems can be significantly improved if events, where the charge is spread over neighboring segments, are reconstructed to be used in the polarization analysis.

Hard X-ray polarimetry with Astrosat-CZTI

X-ray polarimetry is largely an unexplored area of an otherwise mature field of X-ray astronomy. Except for a few early attempts during the 1970s, no dedicated X-ray polarimeter has been flown during the past four decades. On the other hand, the scientific value of X-ray polarization measurement has been well known for a long time, and there has been significant technical progress in developing sensitive X-ray polarimeters in recent years. But there are no approved dedicated X-ray polarimetric experiments to be flown in the near future, so it is important to explore the polarimetric capabilities of other existing or planned instruments and examine whether they can provide significant astrophysical polarization measurements. In this paper, we present experimental results to show that the CZTI instrument onboard the forthcoming Indian astronomy mission, Astrosat, will be able to provide sensitive measurements of X-ray polarization in the energy range of 100 300 keV. CZTI will be able to constrain any intrinsic polarization greater than 40% for bright X-ray sources (>500 mCrab) within a short exposure of 100 ks with a 3-sigma confidence level. We show that this seemingly “modest” sensitivity can play a very significant role in addressing long pending questions, such as the contribution of relativistic jets to hard X-rays in black hole binaries and X-ray emission mechanism and geometry in X-ray pulsars.

Multi-element readout of structured HPGe-detectors for high-resolution x-ray spectroscopy using CUBE-preamplifiers

Very recently we have shown that CUBE-preamplifiers developed by XGLab s.r.l. can be used for the readout of single elements of thick structured planar HPGe- and Si(Li)-detectors produced by SEMIKON [1]. In this paper we will present the results of a simultaneous multi-element readout of structured detectors using the same preamplifiers for measuring high-energy x-rays (more than 100 keV) with a comparable energy resolution as for the single-element readout. Several high-purity germanium detectors (HPGe-detectors) with different position sensitive structures on one detector contact have been used for the first tests. In addition to that we have modified an existing 16-pixel HPGe-polarimeter from GSI-Darmstadt with the new readout. The detector elements (7 mm × 7 mm each, arranged in a 4 × 4 matrix) are connected to CUBE-preamplifiers used in pulse-reset mode. The technological progress achieved with this detector system resulting in a significant improved energy resolution will contribute a lot to much more precise polarization measurements of x-rays emitted from atom-ion collisions which are part of the physics program of the SPARC collaboration (Stored Particles Atomic Physics Research Collaboration) at GSI and the future FAIR accelerator facility (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research).

Polarization Bremsstrahlung by Relativistic Electrons in Backscattering Geometry for Diagnosing Atomic Structure of Polycrystals

The measurements of X-ray polarization’s bremsstrahlung in the back scattering geometry (PBBS) generated during the interaction of 7 MeV electrons with polycrystalline foils of copper and niobium were performed. The analysis has shown a good agreement of the spectral width and position of the peaks with the theoretical calculations. The obtained results confirm the availability to develop a new method based on the PBBS peaks measurements for diagnostics of materials with a polycrystalline atomic structure.

Prospects of hard X-ray polarimetry with Astrosat-CZTI

Astrosat is the first Indian satellite mission dedicated for astronomical studies. It is planned for launch during 2014 and will have five instruments for multi-wavelength observations from optical to hard X-rays. Cadmium Zing Telluride Imager (CZTI) is one of the five instruments aiming for simultaneous X-ray spectroscopy and imaging in the energy range of 10 keV to 100 keV (along with all sky photometric capability unto 250 keV). It is based on pixilated CZT detector array with total geometric area of 1024 cm2. It will have two-dimensional coded mask for medium resolution X-ray imaging. The CZT detector plane will be realized using CZT detector modules having integrated readout electronics. Each CZT detector module consists of 4 cm × 4 cm CZT with thickness of 5 mm which is further pixilated into 16 × 16 array of pixels. Thus each pixel has size of 2.5 mm × 2.5 mm and thickness of 5 mm. Such pixilated detector plane can in principle be used for hard X-ray polarization measurements based on the principle of Compton scattering by measuring azimuthal distribution of simultaneous events in two adjacent pixels. We have carried out detailed Geant4 simulations for estimating polarimetric capabilities of CZTI detector plane. The results indicate that events in the energy range of 100 keV to 250 keV, where the 5 mm thick CZT detector has significant detection efficiency, can be used for polarimetric studies. Our simulation results indicate the minimum detectable polarization (MDP) at the level of ∼ 10% can be achieved for bright Crab like X-ray sources with exposure time of ∼500 ks. We also carried out preliminary experiments to verify the results from our simulations. Here we present detailed method and results of our simulations as well as preliminary results from the experimental verification of polarimetric capabilities of CZT detector modules used in Astrosat CZTI.

Probing magnetar magnetosphere through X-ray polarization measurements

The study of magnetars is of particular relevance since these objects are the only laboratories where the physics in ultra-strong magnetic fields can be directly tested. Until now, spectroscopic and timing measurements at X-ray energies in soft gamma-repeaters (SGRs) and anomalous X-ray pulsar (AXPs) have been the main source of information about the physical properties of a magnetar and of its magnetosphere. Spectral fitting in the ~ 0.5-10 keV range allowed to validate the "twisted magnetosphere" model, probing the structure of the external field and estimating the density and velocity of the magnetospheric currents. Spectroscopy alone, however, may fail in disambiguating the two key parameters governing magnetospheric scattering (the charge velocity and the twist angle) and is quite insensitive to the source geometry. X-ray polarimetry, on the other hand, can provide a quantum leap in the field by adding two extra observables, the linear polarization degree and the polarization angle. Using the bright AXP 1RXS J170849.0-400910 as a template, we show that phase-resolved polarimetric measurements can unambiguously determine the model parameters, even with a small X-ray polarimetry mission carrying modern photoelectric detectors and existing X-ray optics. We also show that polarimetric measurements can pinpoint vacuum polarization effects and thus provide an indirect evidence for ultra-strong magnetic fields.

Structure and properties of La-modified Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 at ambient and elevated temperatures

The crystal structure and property changes of sodium bismuth titanate (Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3, NBT) piezoelectric ceramics are reported as a function of La modification (0.5–2.0 at. %) and increasing temperature using high resolution x-ray diffraction, permittivity, depolarization, and polarization and strain hysteresis measurements. La substitution is found to decrease the depolarization temperature of NBT (e.g., 1.5 at. % La substitution lowers the depolarization temperature by 60 °C relative to the unmodified composition) with little impact on the room temperature polarization and strain hysteresis. The room temperature structures of the various NBT compositions were modeled using a mixture of the monoclinic Cc space group and the cubic Pm3¯m phase, where the Pm3¯m phase is used to model local regions in the material which do not obey the long range Cc space group. With increasing La substitution, the lattice parameter distortions associated with the Cc phase approached that of the prototypical cubic unit cell and the fraction of the Pm3¯m phase increased. The relationship between these crystallographic changes and the depolarization behavior of La-modified NBT is discussed.

Binary mixtures of liquid crystalline compounds with a reentrant smectic-A*phase

Binary mixtures of chiral liquid crystalline homologs have been studied. One compound designated 9ZBL exhibited reentrancy of a paraelectric smectic-A* phase, SmA*(RE), below the ferroelectric SmC* phase in the SmA*-SmC*-SmA*RE phase sequence. Stabilization of the SmA(RE) phase is established from studying binary mixtures of 9ZBL with its neighboring homologs 8ZBL and 10ZBL. Compound 8ZBL exhibits only SmA* phase in a wide temperature range and for 10ZBL the SmA*-SmC* phase sequence is observed on cooling. X-ray studies, dielectric spectroscopy, polarization, and tilt angle measurements have been carried out to characterize studied materials. For binary mixtures 9ZBL-10ZBL the reentrant SmA_(RE*) phase is observed for all studied concentrations. For binary mixtures 9ZBL-8ZBL a very small amount of 8ZBL (up to 0.5 mole %) causes disappearance of the SmC* phase. Nevertheless, a small anomaly in the temperature dependencies of the layer spacing, d(T), accompanied by a significant decrease in diffracted x-ray intensity occurs within the SmA* phase for mixtures containing up to 20 mole % of 8ZBL. This anomaly is evidence of the existence of a boundary between the SmA* and SmA(RE*) phases, thus proving their different nature.

Response of the Compton polarimeter POLAR to polarized hard X-rays

POLAR is a novel compact space-borne Compton polarimeter conceived for a precise measurement of hard X-ray polarization and optimized for the detection of Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) photons in the energy range 50–500keV. In December 2009 we have performed a systematic calibration of one modular unit of POLAR at four energy levels (200, 288, 356 and 511keV) with a 100% polarized synchrotron radiation source at the beam line ID15A at ESRF. The detector was displaced several times on the beam line in order to achieve a uniform illumination, which mimics the flux from a GRB placed on the zenith of the experiment. Several rotations of the detector on the beam axis allowed us to test the response of POLAR to several polarization angles. Two different analysis methods to reconstruct the polarization angle of the beam and the modulation factor μ100 are presented; the first relies on the existence of a unpolarized sample, produced by merging two data sets with orthogonal polarization directions, and is less dependent on systematic effects due to asymmetries in the detector; the second is independent from unpolarized measurements, and will likely be used to analyze the polarization of GRB during the flight. Both methods reconstruct the input polarization angle within 2° and produce modulation factors μ100 between 30% and 50% depending on the beam energy. Monte Carlo simulations performed with GEANT4 confirm the experimental results.

Prospect of polarization measurements from black hole binaries in their thermal state with a scattering polarimeter

X-ray polarization measurement is a unique tool which may provide crucial information regarding the emission mechanism and the geometry of various astrophysical sources, such as neutron stars, accreting black holes, pulsar wind nebulae, active galactic nuclei, supernova remnants etc., and can help us to probe matter under extreme magnetic fields and extreme gravitational fields. Although the three other domains of X-ray astronomy, i.e. timing, spectral and imaging are well developed, there has been very little progress in X-ray polarimetry with only one definitive polarization measurement and a few upper limits available so far. Radiation from accreting black holes in their thermal-dominated (high soft) state is expected to be polarized due to scattering in the plane-parallel atmosphere of the disc. Furthermore, special and general relativistic effects in the innermost parts of the disc predict energy-dependent rotation in the plane of polarization and some distinct signatures which can be used as a probe for measuring the parameters of the black hole, like its spin, emissivity profile and the angle of inclination of the system. We present the results from an analysis of expected minimum detectable polarization from some of the galactic black hole binaries, GRO J1655−40, GX 339−4, H1743−322, Cygnus X-1 and XTE J1817−330, in their thermal-dominated state with a proposed Thomson X-ray polarimeter. A proposal for a scattering polarimeter has been submitted to the Indian Space Research Organization for a dedicated small satellite mission and a laboratory unit has been built. Along with the measurement of the degree of polarization, the polarization angle measurement is also important, hence the error in the polarization angle measurement for a range of detection significance is also obtained.

A New Family of Fast Sodium Ion Conductors: Na2M2TeO6 (M = Ni, Co, Zn, Mg)

The four compounds Na2M2TeO6 (M2+ = Ni, Co, Zn, Mg) have been prepared by solid-state reactions in air at 600−820 °C and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, redox titration, impedance, and polarization measurements on ceramic samples. All of them are superstructures of the well-known hexagonal layered P2-type with ordering of M and Te in octahedral brucite-like layers. They have similar parameters of the hexagonal cells: a = 5.20−5.28 Å, c = 11.14−11.31 Å, but different stacking sequences along c. With M = Co, Zn, Mg (P6322), there are columns Te M Te M and M M M M, but with M = Ni (P63/mcm), there are columns Te Te Te Te and Ni Ni Ni Ni. As little as 5% Li substitution for Ni induces transformation to the P6322 structure. Sodium ions in the interlayer gaps are disordered over a number of trigonal prisms sharing faces and exhibit high conductivity: 4−11 S/m at 300 °C, despite relatively low densities of the ceramics. The materials are purely ionic conductors; the largest electronic contribution (0.1% at 300 °C) has been found for the Co compound, presumably due to a minor admixture of Co(3+).

Spectral and polarimetric characterization of the Gas Pixel Detector filled with dimethyl ether

The Gas Pixel Detector belongs to the very limited class of gas detectors optimized for the measurement of X-ray polarization in the emission of astrophysical sources. The choice of the mixture in which X-ray photons are absorbed and photoelectrons propagate, deeply affects both the energy range of the instrument and its performance in terms of gain, track dimension and ultimately, polarimetric sensitivity. Here we present the characterization of the Gas Pixel Detector with a 1 cm thick cell filled with dimethyl ether (DME) at 0.79 atm, selected among other mixtures for the very low diffusion coefficient. Almost completely polarized and monochromatic photons were produced at the calibration facility built at INAF/IASF-Rome exploiting Bragg diffraction at nearly 45°. For the first time ever, we measured the modulation factor and the spectral capabilities of the instrument at energies as low as 2.0 keV, but also at 2.6, 3.7, 4.0, 5.2 and 7.8 keV. These measurements cover almost completely the energy range of the instrument and allows to compare the sensitivity achieved with that of the standard mixture, composed of helium and DME.

Comparative study of different scattering geometries for the proposed Indian X-ray polarization measurement experiment using Geant4

Polarization is a very important property of radiation from astrophysical sources. It carries unique information regarding the emission mechanism, physical conditions as well as emission geometry at the origin. Polarization measurements in X-rays can provide unique opportunity to study the behavior of matter and radiation under extreme magnetic fields and extreme gravitational fields. Unfortunately, over past two decades, when X-ray astronomy witnessed multiple order of magnitude improvement in temporal, spatial and spectral sensitivities, there is no (or very little) progress in the field of polarization measurements of astrophysical X-rays. Recently, a proposal has been submitted to Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for a dedicated small satellite based experiment to carry out X-ray polarization measurement, which aims to provide the first X-ray polarization measurements since 1976. This experiment will be based on the well known principle of polarization measurement by Thomson scattering and employs the baseline design of a central low Z scatterer (typically Lithium, Lithium Hydride or Beryllium) surrounded by X-ray detectors to measure the angular intensity distribution of the scattered X-rays. The sensitivity of such experiment is determined by the collecting area, scattering and detection efficiency, X-ray detector background, and the modulation factor. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully select the scattering geometry which can provide the highest modulation factor and thus highest sensitivity within the specified experimental constraints. The effective way to determine optimum scattering geometry is by studying various possible scattering geometries by means of Monte Carlo simulations. Here we present results of our detailed comparative study based on Geant4 simulations of five different scattering geometries which can be considered within the weight and size constraints of the proposed small satellite based X-ray polarization measurement experiment.

X-ray polarization measurement of the Beamline 4B7 of Beijing synchrotron radiation facility using a PET crystal

An experimental method has been developed to measure the X-ray polarization of the Beamline 4B7 on Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility in the X-ray energy range 2100–5600 eV by using a PET crystal diagnostic system and rotating the system around the incident X-ray beam by 90°. The experimental results show that the measured X-ray polarization is more than 0.88 in the photon energy range 2100–3600 eV with maximum of 0.99 at 2707.3 eV, and quickly decreases to about 0.38 at 4719.2 eV with photon energy increasing from 3600 to 4719.2 eV, then it keeps almost constant as the photon energy increases further to 5600 eV.

HX-POL—A Balloon-Borne Hard X-Ray Polarimeter

We report on the design and estimated performance of a balloon-borne hard X-ray polarimeter called HX-POL. The experiment uses a combination of Si and Cadmium Zinc Telluride detectors to measure the polarization of 50 keV-400 keV X-rays from cosmic sources through the dependence of the angular distribution of Compton scattered photons on the polarization direction. On a one-day balloon flight, HX-POL would allow us to measure the polarization of bright Crab-like sources for polarization degrees well below 10%. On a longer (15-30 day) flight from Australia or Antarctica, HX-POL would be be able to measure the polarization of bright galactic X-ray sources down to polarization degrees of a few percent. Hard X-ray polarization measurements provide unique venues for the study of particle acceleration processes by compact objects and relativistic outflows. In this paper, we discuss the overall instrument design and performance. Furthermore, we present results from laboratory tests of the Si and CZT detectors.

Soft X-ray polarization in thermal magnetar emission

Emission spectra from magnetars in the soft X-ray band likely contain a thermal component emerging directly from the neutron star surface. However, the lack of observed absorption-like features in quiescent spectra makes it difficult to directly constrain physical properties of the atmosphere. We argue that future X-ray polarization measurements represent a promising technique for directly constraining the magnetar magnetic field strength and geometry. We construct models of the observed polarization signal from a finite surface hotspot, using the latest NS atmosphere models for magnetic fields B = 4 x 10^13--5 x 10^14 G. Our calculations are strongly dependent on the NS magnetic field strength and geometry, and are more weakly dependent on the NS equation of state and atmosphere composition. We discuss how the complementary dependencies of phase-resolved spectroscopy and polarimetry might resolve degeneracies that currently hamper the determination of magnetar physical parameters using thermal models.