GRAPE - A Balloon-Borne Gamma-Ray Polarimeter Experiment

Bloser, Peter F.; Legere, Jason S.; Macri, J.; McConnell, M. L.; Narita, T.; Ryan, J. M.

doi:10.1088/1009-9271/6/s1/54

Cited by 17 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 9 publications

(4 reference statements)

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“…[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] The scintillator assembly is read out by a multi-anode photomultiplier tube (MAPMT), with each anode providing the readout of a single scintillator element. The arrangement of high-Z and low-Z scintillator elements was determined through simulations.…”

Section: The Grape Polarimeter Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plans for the first balloon flight of the gamma-ray polarimeter experiment (GRAPE)

et al. 2010

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We have developed a design for a hard X-ray polarimeter operating in the energy range from 50 to 500 keV. This modular design, known as GRAPE (Gamma-Ray Polarimeter Experiment), has been successfully demonstrated in the lab using partially polarized gamma-ray sources and using fully polarized photon beams at Argonne National Laboratory. In June of 2007, a GRAPE engineering model, consisting of a single detector module, was flown on a high altitude balloon flight to further demonstrate the design and to collect background data. We are currently preparing a much larger balloon payload for a flight in the fall of 2011. Using a large (16-element) array of detector modules, this payload is being designed to search for polarization from known point sources of radiation, namely the Crab and Cygnus X-1. This first flight will not only provide a scientific demonstration of the GRAPE design (by measuring polarization from the Crab nebula), it will also lay the foundation for subsequent long duration balloon flights that will be designed for studying polarization from gamma-ray bursts and solar flares. Here we shall present data from calibration of the first flight module detectors, review the latest payload design and update the predicted polarization sensitivity for both the initial continental US balloon flight and the subsequent long-duration balloon flights.

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Section: The Grape Polarimeter Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plans for the first balloon flight of the gamma-ray polarimeter experiment (GRAPE)

et al. 2010

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“…The latest [29,30] MAPMT (Hamamatsu Corp.). The H8500 provides an 8 × 8 array of independent, 5-mm anodes on a 6-mm pitch.…”

Section: Prototype Detector Modulementioning

confidence: 99%

Calibration of the Gamma-RAy Polarimeter Experiment (GRAPE) at a polarized hard X-ray beam

Bloser

Legere

McConnell

et al. 2009

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A:

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The Gamma-RAy Polarimeter Experiment (GRAPE) is a concept for an astronomical hard X-ray Compton polarimeter operating in the 50 -500 keV energy band. The instrument has been optimized for wide-field polarization measurements of transient outbursts from energetic astrophysical objects such as gamma-ray bursts and solar flares. The GRAPE instrument is composed of identical modules, each of which consists of an array of scintillator elements read out by a multi-anode photomultiplier tube (MAPMT). Incident photons Compton scatter in plastic scintillator elements and are subsequently absorbed in inorganic scintillator elements; a net polarization signal is revealed by a characteristic asymmetry in the azimuthal scattering angles. We have constructed a prototype GRAPE module containing a single CsI(Na) calorimeter element, at the center of the MAPMT, surrounded by 60 plastic elements. The prototype has been combined with custom readout electronics and software to create a complete "engineering model" of the GRAPE instrument. This engineering model has been calibrated using a nearly 100% polarized hard X-ray beam at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory. We find modulation factors of 0.46 ± 0.06 and 0.48 ± 0.03 at 69.5 keV and 129.5 keV, respectively, in good agreement with Monte Carlo simulations. In this paper we present details of the beam test, data analysis, and simulations, and discuss the implications of our results for the further development of the GRAPE concept. 95.55.Ka; 95.75.Hi;

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“…In view of the power and the lack of precise polarization studies of GRBs, s Several X and γ-ray polarimeters have been proposed and are under development to perform precise polarization studies of GRBs. Some examples are POLAR (Produit et al, 2005), GRAPE (Gamma-Ray Polarimeter Experiment (Bloser et al, 2006)) POET (Polarimeters for Energetic Transients (Hill et al, 2008)), CIPHER (Coded Imager and Polarimeter for High Energy Radiation (Curado da Silva et al, 2003)), PHENEX (Polarimetry for High ENErgy X rays (Gunji et al, 2007)), XPOL (Costa et al, 2007) and PO-LARIX (Costa et al, 2006). Furthermore, polarimeters designed for studying fixed sources, like PoGOLite (Kamae et al, 2008), are also able to measure the polarization of GRBs if they happen to appear in their field of view.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

POLAR: A Space-borne X-Ray Polarimeter for Transient Sources

Orsi

2011

Astrophys. Space Sci. Trans.

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Abstract. POLAR is a novel compact Compton X-ray polarimeter designed to measure the linear polarization of the prompt emission of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRB) and other strong transient sources such as soft gamma repeaters and solar flares in the energy range 50−500 keV. A detailed measurement of the polarization from astrophysical sources will lead to a better understanding of the source geometry and emission mechanisms. POLAR is expected to observe every year several GRBs with a minimum detectable polarization smaller than 10%, thanks to its large modulation factor, effective area, and field of view. POLAR consists of 1600 low-Z plastic scintillator bars, divided in 25 independent modular units, each read out by one flat-panel multi-anode photomultiplier. The design of POLAR is reviewed, and results of tests of one modular unit of the engineering and qualification model (EQM) of POLAR with synchrotron radiation are presented. After construction and testing of the full EQM, we will start building the flight model in 2011, in view of the launch foreseen in 2013.

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GRAPE - A Balloon-Borne Gamma-Ray Polarimeter Experiment

Cited by 17 publications

References 9 publications

Plans for the first balloon flight of the gamma-ray polarimeter experiment (GRAPE)

Plans for the first balloon flight of the gamma-ray polarimeter experiment (GRAPE)

Calibration of the Gamma-RAy Polarimeter Experiment (GRAPE) at a polarized hard X-ray beam

POLAR: A Space-borne X-Ray Polarimeter for Transient Sources

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