A Large-Area Optical Time Projection Chamber for Hard X-ray Polarimetry with Directional Imaging of Low-Energy Electron Recoils
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arXiv
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| Auteurs principaux: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Publié: |
2025
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| _version_ | 1866910043159396352 |
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| author | Fiorina, Davide Baracchini, Elisabetta Dho, Giorgio Soffitta, Paolo Torelli, Samuele Marques, David J. M. Costa, Enrico Fabiani, Sergio Muleri, Fabio Mazzitelli, Giovanni Prajapati, Atul |
| author_facet | Fiorina, Davide Baracchini, Elisabetta Dho, Giorgio Soffitta, Paolo Torelli, Samuele Marques, David J. M. Costa, Enrico Fabiani, Sergio Muleri, Fabio Mazzitelli, Giovanni Prajapati, Atul |
| contents | We report on the development of a large-volume, wide field-of-view time projection chamber (TPC) for X-ray polarimetry, featuring a triple-GEM amplification stage and optical readout. Originally developed within the CYGNO program for directional dark matter searches, the system employs a scientific CMOS (sCMOS) camera and a photomultiplier tube (PMT) to collect secondary scintillation light produced during charge amplification. A prototype with a cylindrical active volume (radius 3.7 cm, height 5 cm) was tested at the INAF--IAPS calibration facility (Rome, Tor Vergata) to assess sensitivity to low-energy electron directionality. We fully reconstruct electrons in the 10-60 keV range, obtain angular resolutions as good as 15°, and infer modulation factors up to 0.9. These first results demonstrate robust photoelectron tracking at tens of keV with strong modulation, indicating that photoelectric-effect polarimetry can be extended to higher energies. This capability is promising for rapid transients (GRBs, solar flares) and would broaden the astrophysical reach of X-ray polarimetry. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_26239 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A Large-Area Optical Time Projection Chamber for Hard X-ray Polarimetry with Directional Imaging of Low-Energy Electron Recoils Fiorina, Davide Baracchini, Elisabetta Dho, Giorgio Soffitta, Paolo Torelli, Samuele Marques, David J. M. Costa, Enrico Fabiani, Sergio Muleri, Fabio Mazzitelli, Giovanni Prajapati, Atul Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics We report on the development of a large-volume, wide field-of-view time projection chamber (TPC) for X-ray polarimetry, featuring a triple-GEM amplification stage and optical readout. Originally developed within the CYGNO program for directional dark matter searches, the system employs a scientific CMOS (sCMOS) camera and a photomultiplier tube (PMT) to collect secondary scintillation light produced during charge amplification. A prototype with a cylindrical active volume (radius 3.7 cm, height 5 cm) was tested at the INAF--IAPS calibration facility (Rome, Tor Vergata) to assess sensitivity to low-energy electron directionality. We fully reconstruct electrons in the 10-60 keV range, obtain angular resolutions as good as 15°, and infer modulation factors up to 0.9. These first results demonstrate robust photoelectron tracking at tens of keV with strong modulation, indicating that photoelectric-effect polarimetry can be extended to higher energies. This capability is promising for rapid transients (GRBs, solar flares) and would broaden the astrophysical reach of X-ray polarimetry. |
| title | A Large-Area Optical Time Projection Chamber for Hard X-ray Polarimetry with Directional Imaging of Low-Energy Electron Recoils |
| topic | Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.26239 |