Equalizing the Pixel Response of the Imaging Photoelectric Polarimeter Onboard the IXPE Mission
The Gas Pixel Detector is a gas detector, sensitive to the polarization of X-rays, currently flying onboard the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE)—the first observatory dedicated to X-ray polarimetry. It detects X-rays and their polarization by imaging the ionization tracks generated by photo...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Astronomical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/acc38e |
| _version_ | 1797702102414262272 |
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| author | John Rankin Fabio Muleri Alessandro Di Marco Sergio Fabiani Fabio La Monaca Paolo Soffitta Matteo Bachetti Luca Baldini Enrico Costa Niccolò Di Lalla Alberto Manfreda Stephen L. O’Dell Matteo Perri Simonetta Puccetti Brian D. Ramsey Carmelo Sgrò Allyn F. Tennant Antonino Tobia Alessio Trois Martin C. Weisskopf Fei Xie |
| author_facet | John Rankin Fabio Muleri Alessandro Di Marco Sergio Fabiani Fabio La Monaca Paolo Soffitta Matteo Bachetti Luca Baldini Enrico Costa Niccolò Di Lalla Alberto Manfreda Stephen L. O’Dell Matteo Perri Simonetta Puccetti Brian D. Ramsey Carmelo Sgrò Allyn F. Tennant Antonino Tobia Alessio Trois Martin C. Weisskopf Fei Xie |
| author_sort | John Rankin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Gas Pixel Detector is a gas detector, sensitive to the polarization of X-rays, currently flying onboard the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE)—the first observatory dedicated to X-ray polarimetry. It detects X-rays and their polarization by imaging the ionization tracks generated by photoelectrons absorbed in the sensitive volume, and then reconstructing the initial direction of the photoelectrons. The primary ionization charge is multiplied and ultimately collected on a finely pixellated ASIC specifically developed for X-ray polarimetry. The signal of individual pixels is processed independently and gain variations can be substantial, of the order of 20%. Such variations need to be equalized to correctly reconstruct the track shape, and therefore its polarization direction. The method to do such equalization is presented here and is based on the comparison between the mean charge of a pixel with respect to the other pixels for equivalent events. The method is shown to finely equalize the response of the detectors onboard IXPE, allowing a better track reconstruction and energy resolution, and can in principle be applied to any imaging detector based on tracks. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T04:45:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b8fd36bdc638410c8ff8c16fe9397e8a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1538-3881 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T04:45:18Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astronomical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-b8fd36bdc638410c8ff8c16fe9397e8a2023-09-03T09:29:31ZengIOP PublishingThe Astronomical Journal1538-38812023-01-01165518610.3847/1538-3881/acc38eEqualizing the Pixel Response of the Imaging Photoelectric Polarimeter Onboard the IXPE MissionJohn Rankin0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9774-0560Fabio Muleri1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3331-3794Alessandro Di Marco2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0331-3259Sergio Fabiani3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1533-0283Fabio La Monaca4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8916-4156Paolo Soffitta5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7781-4104Matteo Bachetti6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4576-9337Luca Baldini7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9785-7726Enrico Costa8https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4925-8523Niccolò Di Lalla9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7574-1298Alberto Manfreda10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0998-4953Stephen L. O’Dell11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1868-8056Matteo Perri12https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3613-4409Simonetta Puccetti13https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2734-7835Brian D. Ramsey14Carmelo Sgrò15https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5676-6214Allyn F. Tennant16https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9443-6774Antonino Tobia17https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9194-9534Alessio Trois18https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3180-6002Martin C. Weisskopf19https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5270-4240Fei Xie20https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0105-5826INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, Italy ; john.rankin@inaf.it; Università di Roma Sapienza , Dipartimento di Fisica, Piazzale Aldo Moro 2, I-00185 Roma, Italy; Università di Roma Tor Vergata , Dipartimento di Fisica, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, 1, I-00133 Roma, ItalyINAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, Italy ; john.rankin@inaf.itINAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, Italy ; john.rankin@inaf.itINAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, Italy ; john.rankin@inaf.itINAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, Italy ; john.rankin@inaf.itINAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, Italy ; john.rankin@inaf.itINAF/Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari , Via della Scienza 5, I-09047 Selargius (CA), ItalyUniversità di Pisa , Dipartimento di Fisica Enrico Fermi, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, Italy; Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare , Sezione di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, ItalyINAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, Italy ; john.rankin@inaf.itW.W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Department of Physics and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University , Stanford, CA 94305, USAIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare , Sezione di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, ItalyNASA Marshall Space Flight Center , Huntsville, AL 35812, USAINAF/Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma , Via Frascati 33, I-00040, Monte Porzio Catone (RM), ItalyAgenzia Spaziale Italiana , Via del Politecnico snc, I-00133 Roma, ItalyNASA Marshall Space Flight Center , Huntsville, AL 35812, USAIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare , Sezione di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, ItalyNASA Marshall Space Flight Center , Huntsville, AL 35812, USAINAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, Italy ; john.rankin@inaf.itINAF/Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari , Via della Scienza 5, I-09047 Selargius (CA), ItalyNASA Marshall Space Flight Center , Huntsville, AL 35812, USAINAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, Italy ; john.rankin@inaf.it; Guangxi Key Laboratory for Relativistic Astrophysics, School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University , Nanning 530004, People's Republic of ChinaThe Gas Pixel Detector is a gas detector, sensitive to the polarization of X-rays, currently flying onboard the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE)—the first observatory dedicated to X-ray polarimetry. It detects X-rays and their polarization by imaging the ionization tracks generated by photoelectrons absorbed in the sensitive volume, and then reconstructing the initial direction of the photoelectrons. The primary ionization charge is multiplied and ultimately collected on a finely pixellated ASIC specifically developed for X-ray polarimetry. The signal of individual pixels is processed independently and gain variations can be substantial, of the order of 20%. Such variations need to be equalized to correctly reconstruct the track shape, and therefore its polarization direction. The method to do such equalization is presented here and is based on the comparison between the mean charge of a pixel with respect to the other pixels for equivalent events. The method is shown to finely equalize the response of the detectors onboard IXPE, allowing a better track reconstruction and energy resolution, and can in principle be applied to any imaging detector based on tracks.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/acc38ePolarimetersPolarimetryX-ray detectorsAstronomical detectorsX-ray telescopesX-ray observatories |
| spellingShingle | John Rankin Fabio Muleri Alessandro Di Marco Sergio Fabiani Fabio La Monaca Paolo Soffitta Matteo Bachetti Luca Baldini Enrico Costa Niccolò Di Lalla Alberto Manfreda Stephen L. O’Dell Matteo Perri Simonetta Puccetti Brian D. Ramsey Carmelo Sgrò Allyn F. Tennant Antonino Tobia Alessio Trois Martin C. Weisskopf Fei Xie Equalizing the Pixel Response of the Imaging Photoelectric Polarimeter Onboard the IXPE Mission The Astronomical Journal Polarimeters Polarimetry X-ray detectors Astronomical detectors X-ray telescopes X-ray observatories |
| title | Equalizing the Pixel Response of the Imaging Photoelectric Polarimeter Onboard the IXPE Mission |
| title_full | Equalizing the Pixel Response of the Imaging Photoelectric Polarimeter Onboard the IXPE Mission |
| title_fullStr | Equalizing the Pixel Response of the Imaging Photoelectric Polarimeter Onboard the IXPE Mission |
| title_full_unstemmed | Equalizing the Pixel Response of the Imaging Photoelectric Polarimeter Onboard the IXPE Mission |
| title_short | Equalizing the Pixel Response of the Imaging Photoelectric Polarimeter Onboard the IXPE Mission |
| title_sort | equalizing the pixel response of the imaging photoelectric polarimeter onboard the ixpe mission |
| topic | Polarimeters Polarimetry X-ray detectors Astronomical detectors X-ray telescopes X-ray observatories |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/acc38e |
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