The Growth of Interest in Astronomical X-Ray Polarimetry

Abstract

Astronomical X-ray polarimetry was first explored in the end of the 1960s by pioneering rocket instruments. The craze arising from the first discoveries of stellar and supernova remnant X-ray polarization led to the addition of X-ray polarimeters to early satellites. Unfortunately, the inadequacy of the diffraction and scattering technologies required to measure polarization with respect to the constraints driven by X-ray mirrors and detectors, coupled with long integration times, slowed down the field for almost 40 years. Thanks to the development of new, highly sensitive, compact X-ray polarimeters in the beginning of the 2000s, observing astronomical X-ray polarization has become feasible, and scientists are now ready to explore our high-energy sky thanks to modern X-ray polarimeters. In the forthcoming years, several X-ray missions (rockets, balloons, and satellites) will create new observational opportunities. Interest in astronomical X-ray polarimetry field has thus been renewed, and this paper presents for the first time a quantitative assessment, all based on scientific literature, of the growth of this interest.

The Panchromatic Polarisation Signatures of Active Galactic Nuclei

“…Many questions linked with AGN formation and evolution processes remain open, and only future polarimetric measurements using 30-meters class telescopes or satellites equipped with state-of-the-art polarimeters can resolve them. In particular, accretion disk theories, disk atmosphere models and jet production mechanisms will be within our reach in the next decade thanks to the renewed enthusiasm of the community about high energy polarimetry [115]. The construction of large radio and millimeter telescopes will also fully benefit the field by probing sub-arcsecond scales.…”

Hard X-ray Polarimetry -- An overview of the method, science drivers and recent findings

“…In recent times, there are some interesting polarization measurement reports in hard X-rays from Cadmium Zinc Telluride Imager (CZTI) on board AstroSat satellite (Bhalerao et al, 2017;Rao et al, 2016), balloon borne instrument, PoGO+ , POLAR on board Chinese space laboratory (Produit et al, 2018;Sun et al, 2016), GAP on board IKAROS spacecraft (Yonetoku et al, 2006) for bright hard X-ray sources (Vadawale et al, 2018;Chattopadhyay et al, 2019;Chauvin et al, 2018aChauvin et al, , 2019Chauvin et al, , 2018bZhang et al, 2019;Yonetoku et al, 2011Yonetoku et al, , 2012. These reports along with those from last two decades (McConnell et al, 2002;Coburn & Boggs, 2003;Laurent et al, 2011;Jourdain et al, 2012;Forot et al, 2008;Dean et al, 2008;Moran et al, 2013;Götz et al, 2009Götz et al, , 2013McGlynn et al, 2007bMcGlynn et al, , 2009 have significantly enhanced the interest in the X-ray polarimetry (Marin, 2018). With IXPE, a dedicated soft X-ray polarimetry mission (Weisskopf et al, 2016;Soffitta, 2017) set to launch in 2021, and a couple of upcoming dedicated hard X-ray polarimetry missions (e.g.…”

The position resolution of the Gas Microchannel plate Pixel Detector

“…With the successful launches of the PolarLight [1,2] and the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) [3,4], these detectors have observed X-ray polarization from various types of celestial radiation, providing a new dimension of information for studying the physical phenomena of celestial bodies. This series of observational achievements marks the reopening of the astronomical soft X-ray polarization window, which had been stagnant for over 40 years due to technological challenges [5,6]. X-ray polarization is an intriguing and promising subfield in X-ray astrophysics.…”