TY - JOUR
T1 - Multilayer mirror-based soft X-ray polarimeter for astronomical observations
AU - Panini, Singam S.
AU - Sreekumar, Parameswaran
AU - Marshall, Herman L.
AU - Narendranath, Shyama
AU - Nayak, Maheswar
AU - Athiray, P. Subramania
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).
PY - 2018/1/1
Y1 - 2018/1/1
N2 - A simple design of a soft X-ray polarimeter using multilayer mirrors is presented. A multilayer mirror acts as a linear polarization analyzer for X-rays at incidence angles close to the Brewster angle. The instrument consists of an X-ray concentrator, a set of multilayer mirrors placed at 45 deg from the optical axis, and a detector at Nasmyth focus. The instrument rotating about its optical axis during observations can measure the linear polarization of 0.2-to 0.7-keV X-rays from astronomical sources. The use of a soft X-ray concentrator with geometrical area ∼630 cm2 provides sufficient sensitivity to address key scientific questions. Five different multilayer mirrors placed on a rotating wheel provide the option to measure polarization in any of the five narrow bands spanning the 0.2-to 0.7-keV range. Design and estimated performance of the design are discussed.
AB - A simple design of a soft X-ray polarimeter using multilayer mirrors is presented. A multilayer mirror acts as a linear polarization analyzer for X-rays at incidence angles close to the Brewster angle. The instrument consists of an X-ray concentrator, a set of multilayer mirrors placed at 45 deg from the optical axis, and a detector at Nasmyth focus. The instrument rotating about its optical axis during observations can measure the linear polarization of 0.2-to 0.7-keV X-rays from astronomical sources. The use of a soft X-ray concentrator with geometrical area ∼630 cm2 provides sufficient sensitivity to address key scientific questions. Five different multilayer mirrors placed on a rotating wheel provide the option to measure polarization in any of the five narrow bands spanning the 0.2-to 0.7-keV range. Design and estimated performance of the design are discussed.
KW - Multilayer mirrors
KW - polarimeter
KW - soft X-rays
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U2 - 10.1117/1.JATIS.4.1.011002
DO - 10.1117/1.JATIS.4.1.011002
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85032034679
SN - 2329-4124
VL - 4
JO - Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems
JF - Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems
IS - 1
M1 - 011002
ER -