THOR-SR - CdTe pixelized detector for astrophysics gamma-ray polarimetry

by José Sousa (LIP)

Wednesday 30 Oct 2024, 14:00 → 15:00 Portugal

Sala de Conferências (Departamento de Física FCTUC)

In the multimessenger era of astrohpysics, gamma-ray polarimetry has been theorized to give scientist new insights on the mechanisms of the most violent events in the universe, ie: GRB, massive body collisions, neutron star formation, active galactic nuclei. Along side observations of gravitational waves, neutrinos and multiwavelenght light, gamma-ray polarimetry can help answer some of the most important questions in the field. Questions concerning the geometry of the magnetic fields, jet structure as well as determine the physical mechanism responsible for gamma-ray emission. 
In this talk we present a CdTe pixelized detector, which will be deployed in orbit on the THOR-SR pathfinder mission to perform gamma-ray polarization measuremnts. We will discuss particle interaction rejection mechanisms as well as showcase the THOR detector geometry capabilities of measuring the crab nebula polarization level. Additionally, preliminary results of beam time on the European Synchrotron Radiation Falicity (ESRF) ID-15 beamline will be presented showcasing the pixelized detector performance under a 99% polarized 50-300keV gamma-ray beam. Challenges related to Compton event reconstruction, along with potential solutions, will be addressed.