Maximum Likelihood Compton Polarimetry with the Compton Spectrometer and Imager

Astrophysical polarization measurements in the soft gamma-ray band are becoming more feasible as detectors with high position and energy resolution are deployed. Previous work has shown that the minimum detectable polarization (MDP) of an ideal Compton polarimeter can be improved by \(\sim 21\%\) wh...

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Published inarXiv.org
Main Authors Lowell, Alexander W, Boggs, Steven E, Jeng-Lun Chiu, Kierans, Carolyn A, Sleator, Clio C, Tomsick, John A, Zoglauer, Andreas C, Hsiang-Kuang Chang, Chao-Hsiung Tseng, Chien-Ying, Yang, Pierre, Jean, Peter von Ballmoos, Lin, Chih-Hsun, Amman, Mark
Format Paper Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 15.09.2017
Subjects
Energy resolution
Gamma rays
Histograms
Maximum likelihood method
Physics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Polarimeters
Polarimetry
Polarization
Scattering angle
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Summary:Astrophysical polarization measurements in the soft gamma-ray band are becoming more feasible as detectors with high position and energy resolution are deployed. Previous work has shown that the minimum detectable polarization (MDP) of an ideal Compton polarimeter can be improved by \(\sim 21\%\) when an unbinned, maximum likelihood method is used instead of the standard approach of fitting a sinusoid to a histogram of azimuthal scattering angles. Here we outline a procedure for implementing this maximum likelihood approach for real, non-ideal polarimeters. As an example, we use the recent observation of GRB 160530A with the Compton Spectrometer and Imager. We find that the MDP for this observation is reduced by \(20\%\) when the maximum likelihood method is used instead of the standard method.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.1709.05352