Simulation of photoelectric X-ray polarimetry and reconstruction of the photoelectron azimuthal angle

Sensitive X-ray polarimetry in the keV energy range can be achieved by measuring the azimuthal angle distribution of emitted electrons after the photoelectric absorption of X-rays in a micropattern gas detector. However, the initial direction of the electron is not readily measurable due to the randomization of its motion during energy loss. By using the Geant4, Maxwell and Garfield packages, we simulated the detected electron tracks following photoelectric absorption, electron drift and diffusion in the gas, and proposed a technique capable of reconstructing the initial direction of the emitted photoelectron. The technique allows us to measure the angular modulation of flux predicted for a polarized X-ray beam. We calculated the modulation factors in 2-10 keV with a gas mixture of neon and CO₂ , and discussed how electron diffusion along the drift will dilute the track and suppress the modulation. These results are useful for the design of the X-ray polarimeter.     

Waveform digitizing for LaBr_3/NaI phoswich detector

The detection efficiency of phoswich detector starts to decrease when Compton scattering becomes significant. Events with energy deposit in both scintillators, if not rejected, are not useful for spectral analysis as the full energy of the incident photon cannot be reconstructed with conventional readout. We show that once the system response is carefully calibrated, the full energy of those double deposit events can be reconstructed using a waveform digitizer as the readout. Our experiment suggests that the efficiency of a photopeak at 662 keV can be increased by a factor of 2 using our LaBr₃/NaI phoswich detector.     

超亮X射线源与中等质量黑洞

超亮X射线源是在邻近星系中发现的一类特殊的辐射X射线的天体.它们类似银河系中的黑洞双星,但却具有更高的亮度,因此可能包含更高质量的黑洞.即所谓的中等质量黑洞.中等质量黑洞并不像恒星级质量黑洞一样,可以是大质量恒星演化未期核塌缩的产物,因此在天体物理中具有重要意义.文章描述了超亮X射线源的一些基本性质,综述了近年来对这些源多波段观测的重要结果,以及这些结果对这些天体本质的暗示.