Feasibility of Observing Gamma-Ray Polarization from Cygnus X-1 Using a CubeSat

Instruments flown on CubeSats are small. Meaningful applications of CubeSats in astronomical observations rely on the choice of a particular subject that is feasible for CubeSats. Here we report the result of a feasibility study for observing gamma-ray polarization from Cygnus X-1 using a small Comp...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Astronomical journal Vol. 160; no. 1; pp. 54 - 62
Main Authors Yang, Chien-Ying, Chang, Yi-Chi, Liang, Hung-Hsiang, Chu, Che-Yen, Hsiang, Jr-Yue, Chiu, Jeng-Lun, Lin, Chih-Hsun, Laurent, Philippe, Rodriguez, Jerome, Chang, Hsiang-Kuang
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Madison The American Astronomical Society 01.07.2020
IOP Publishing
Subjects
Astronomical instrumentation
Astronomical instruments
Astronomy
Astrophysical black holes
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
BLACK HOLES
Cerium
CERIUM BROMIDES
Computer simulation
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
Cubesat
EMISSION
Feasibility studies
Gamma emission
GAMMA RADIATION
Gamma rays
Gamma-ray astronomy
Gamma-ray detectors
Gamma-ray sources
Gamma-ray telescopes
Low altitude
MONTE CARLO METHOD
Monte Carlo simulation
PHOSPHORS
POLARIMETERS
POLARIZATION
Radiation
Scintillation counters
X RADIATION
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Instruments flown on CubeSats are small. Meaningful applications of CubeSats in astronomical observations rely on the choice of a particular subject that is feasible for CubeSats. Here we report the result of a feasibility study for observing gamma-ray polarization from Cygnus X-1 using a small Compton polarimeter on board a 3U CubeSat. Silicon detectors and cerium bromide scintillators were employed in the instrument models that we discuss in this study. Through Monte Carlo simulations with a Geant4-based MEGAlib package, we found that, with a 10 Ms on-axis, zenith-direction observation in a low-inclination, low-altitude, Earth-orbit radiation background environment, the minimum detectable polarization degree can be down to about 10% in 160-250 keV, 20% in 250-400 keV, and 65% in 400-2000 keV. A 3U CubeSat dedicated to observing Cygnus X-1 can therefore yield useful information on the polarization state of gamma-ray emissions from the brightest persistent X-ray black hole binary in the sky.
Bibliography:AAS21585
Laboratory Astrophysics, Instrumentation, Software, and Data
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 14
ISSN:0004-6256
1538-3881
1538-3881
DOI:10.3847/1538-3881/ab9caf