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Analysis of the Data from Compton X-ray Polarimeters which Measure the Azimuthal and Polar Scattering Angles
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics · Submitted 7 Feb 2011
abstract compiled · 2026-09-23 · no language-model review
The authors' main claim We study the case of an ideal Compton polarimeter and show that a Maximum Likelihood analysis which uses the two scattering angles lowers the Minimum Detectable Polarization (MDP) by ~20% compared to a standard analysis based on the azimuthal scattering angles alone.
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The abstract, sentence by sentence
X-ray polarimetry has the potential to make key-contributions to our understanding of galactic compact objects like binary black hole systems and neutron stars, and extragalactic objects like active galactic nuclei, blazars, and Gamma Ray Bursts. Furthermore, several particle astrophysics topics can be addressed including uniquely sensitive tests of Lorentz invariance. In the energy range from 10 keV to several MeV, Compton polarimeters achieve the best performance. In this paper we evaluate the benefit that comes from using the azimuthal and polar angles of the Compton scattered photons in the analysis, rather than using the azimuthal scattering angles alone. We study the case of an ideal Compton polarimeter and show that a Maximum Likelihood analysis which uses the two scattering angles lowers the Minimum Detectable Polarization (MDP) by ~20% compared to a standard analysis based on the azimuthal scattering angles alone. The accuracies with which the polarization fraction and the polarization direction can be measured improve by a similar amount. We conclude by discussing potential applications of Maximum Likelihood analysis methods for various polarimeter experiments.
background contribution method result interpretation main claim
| # | sentence | role | the authors' own work | states the main conclusion | strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| s0 | X-ray polarimetry has the potential to make key-contributions to our understanding of galactic compact objects like binary black hole systems and neutron stars, and extragalactic objects like active galactic nuclei, blazars, and Gamma Ray Bursts. | background 1.00 | 0.04 | 0.02 | hedged possibility 0.96 |
| s1 | Furthermore, several particle astrophysics topics can be addressed including uniquely sensitive tests of Lorentz invariance. | background 1.00 | 0.04 | 0.01 | asserted 0.73 |
| s2 | In the energy range from 10 keV to several MeV, Compton polarimeters achieve the best performance. | background 1.00 | 0.07 | 0.01 | asserted 1.00 |
| s3 | In this paper we evaluate the benefit that comes from using the azimuthal and polar angles of the Compton scattered photons in the analysis, rather than using the azimuthal scattering angles alone. | contribution 0.98 | 0.64 | 0.05 | asserted 0.73 |
| s4 | We study the case of an ideal Compton polarimeter and show that a Maximum Likelihood analysis which uses the two scattering angles lowers the Minimum Detectable Polarization (MDP) by ~20% compared to a standard analysis based on the azimuthal scattering angles alone. | result 1.00 | 0.95 | 0.86 | asserted 1.00 |
| s5 | The accuracies with which the polarization fraction and the polarization direction can be measured improve by a similar amount. | result 1.00 | 0.90 | 0.13 | asserted 1.00 |
| s6 | We conclude by discussing potential applications of Maximum Likelihood analysis methods for various polarimeter experiments. | future work 0.98 | 0.40 | 0.10 | unclear 0.78 |
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Original abstract
X-ray polarimetry has the potential to make key-contributions to our understanding of galactic compact objects like binary black hole systems and neutron stars, and extragalactic objects like active galactic nuclei, blazars, and Gamma Ray Bursts. Furthermore, several particle astrophysics topics can be addressed including uniquely sensitive tests of Lorentz invariance. In the energy range from 10 keV to several MeV, Compton polarimeters achieve the best performance. In this paper we evaluate the benefit that comes from using the azimuthal and polar angles of the Compton scattered photons in the analysis, rather than using the azimuthal scattering angles alone. We study the case of an ideal Compton polarimeter and show that a Maximum Likelihood analysis which uses the two scattering angles lowers the Minimum Detectable Polarization (MDP) by ~20% compared to a standard analysis based on the azimuthal scattering angles alone. The accuracies with which the polarization fraction and the polarization direction can be measured improve by a similar amount. We conclude by discussing potential applications of Maximum Likelihood analysis methods for various polarimeter experiments.
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These results are in qualitative agreement with those obtained at 100 keV by a likelihood analysis of the doubly differential cross section [ref] .
Compton polarimetry revisited · Optimal variable for polarisation measurement · 0.95
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One can estimate the uncertainty on the fit-parameters by mapping the Bayesian posterior probability density function [ref] (see also [ref] ): [equation] The function $p$ can be used to plot a region $R_α(β)$ (or several regions) which contains the true value $a_T$ and $ϕ_T$ with a certain probability $α$: [equation] with $β$ is chosen such that [equation]
On understanding the figures of merit for detection and measurement of x-ray polarization · Analysis Methods · 0.80
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