Hard X ray polarimetry with wide band Laue lens telescopes

Abstract

Abstract-Polarimetry is today considered a key observational parameter which can be used to help solve important scientific issues that are still open in the hard X ray domain (above 10 keV). Therefore the ability to perform high sensitivity polarisation measurements has become a mandatory requirement for the next generation of space telescopes operating in this energy range. In particular the development of new high energy focusing optics, such as wide band Laue lenses operating from ~60 keV up to several hundred keV, with their 50-100 times better sensitivity with respect to current instrumentation, opens a real possibility to make hard X ray polarimetry an almost standard measurement. Hard X ray polarimetry can be performed using highly segmented focal plane detectors operated as scattering polarimeters. In this work we summarize results obtained by our group in a series of experiments with CZT/CdTe pixel detector prototypes operating as scattering polarimeters in the range between ~100-700 keV as well as Montecarlo evaluations of the achievable performance in polarisation measurements for Laue lens telescopes using focal planes based on CdTe/CZT pixel detectors.