A Triple-GEM Time Projection Chamber for Wide Field-of-View Hard X-ray Polarimetry: First Results

Avatar
Poster
Voice is AI-generated
Connected to paperThis paper is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review

A Triple-GEM Time Projection Chamber for Wide Field-of-View Hard X-ray Polarimetry: First Results

Authors

Davide Fiorina, Elisabetta Baracchini, Giorgio Dho, Paolo Soffitta, Samuele Torelli, David J. M. Marques, Enrico Costa, Sergio Fabiani, Fabio Muleri, Giovanni Mazzitelli, Atul Prajapati

Abstract

We report on the development of a large-volume, wide field-of-view time projection chamber (TPC) for X-ray polarimetry, featuring a triple-GEM amplification stage and optical readout. Originally developed within the CYGNO program for directional dark matter searches, the system employs a scientific CMOS (sCMOS) camera and a photomultiplier tube (PMT) to collect secondary scintillation light produced during charge amplification. A prototype with a cylindrical active volume (radius 3.7 cm, height 5 cm) was tested at the INAF--IAPS calibration facility (Rome, Tor Vergata) to assess sensitivity to low-energy electron directionality. We fully reconstruct electrons in the 10-60 keV range, obtain angular resolutions as good as 15{\deg}, and infer modulation factors up to 0.9. These first results demonstrate robust photoelectron tracking at tens of keV with strong modulation, indicating that photoelectric-effect polarimetry can be extended to higher energies. This capability is promising for rapid transients (GRBs, solar flares) and would broaden the astrophysical reach of X-ray polarimetry.

Follow Us on

0 comments

Add comment