Compton imaging with AGATA and SmartPET for DESPEC

Abstract

DESPEC (DEcay SPECtroscopy) is a spectrometer, currently under construction, which is to be used at the FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research) facility at GSI Darmstadt, Germany, as part of the NuSTAR (Nuclear STructure, Astrophysics and Reactions) project. Its goal is to analyse the decay of exotic nuclei produced via the Super-FRS (SUPERconducting FRagment Separator). The optimal configuration of certain elements of the spectrometer, namely a HPGe (High Purity Germanium) tracking array, is still under consideration. Work currently being carried out at the University of Liverpool using a segmented, coaxial HPGe detector (AGATA B009) and a pixelated, planar HPGe detector (SmartPET 1) in a Compton camera configuration aims to inform this process by providing insight into the potential performance of such a configuration. This will determine its suitability for the intended purpose, i.e. Compton reconstruction of gamma rays emitted from exotic nuclei implanted into the DESPEC implantation detector, AIDA (Advanced Implantation Detector Array). Preliminary results from this investigation, along with plans for the future direction of this work, are presented.