Liquid xenon gamma-ray imaging telescope (LXeGRIT) for medium energy astrophysics

Elena Aprile; Valeri Egorov; Fang Xu; Edward L. Chupp; Philip P. Dunphy; Tadayoshi Doke; Jun Kikuchi; Gerald J. Fishman; Geoffrey N. Pendleton; Kimiaki Masuda; Toshisuke Kashiwagi

doi:10.1117/12.253996

18 October 1996 Liquid Xenon Gamma-Ray Imaging Telescope (LXeGRIT) for medium energy astrophysics

Elena Aprile, Valeri Egorov, Fang Xu, Edward L. Chupp, Philip P. Dunphy, Tadayoshi Doke, Jun Kikuchi, Gerald J. Fishman, Geoffrey N. Pendleton, Kimiaki Masuda, Toshisuke Kashiwagi

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 2806, Gamma-Ray and Cosmic-Ray Detectors, Techniques, and Missions; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.253996
Event: SPIE's 1996 International Symposium on Optical Science, Engineering, and Instrumentation, 1996, Denver, CO, United States

Abstract

As part of our ongoing research program to develop a liquid xenon gamma-ray imaging telescope (LXe-GRIT) for medium energy astrophysics, we have built a liquid xenon time projection chamber (LXeTPC) with a total volume of 10 liters and a sensitive are of 20 cm by 20 cm. The detector has been successfully tested with gamma-ray sources in the laboratory and is currently being prepared as balloon-borne payload for imaging MeV gamma-ray emission from the Crab Nebula, Cygnus X-1 and the Orion molecular cloud region. The LXe-TPC, sensitive to gamma-rays from 300 keV to 30 MeV, measures the energy and the 3-D location of each gamma-ray interaction with a resolution of 6% FWHM and 1 mm RMS at 1 MeV, within a 1 sr FOV. Its detection efficiency for Compton events is about 4% in the 1 - 3 MeV, an energy band of great astrophysical interest for both continuum and line emission. Its 3 sigma continuum sensitivity of 1.8 multiplied by 10^-7 ph cm^-2s^-1keV^-1 for a nominal 10 hr observation time, will allow us to study a variety of sources with an imaging accuracy as good as 1 degree. We plan to pursue a vigorous program of balloon flights with this telescope to achieve the maximum science return while continuing a strong R&D laboratory program on LXe technology. The ultimate goal is an optimized design of a satellite implementation of a liquid xenon gamma-ray imaging instrument that will lead to drastic improvements in sensitivity and angular resolution in the 0.3 - 30 MeV band and beyond.

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Elena Aprile, Valeri Egorov, Fang Xu, Edward L. Chupp, Philip P. Dunphy, Tadayoshi Doke, Jun Kikuchi, Gerald J. Fishman, Geoffrey N. Pendleton, Kimiaki Masuda, and Toshisuke Kashiwagi "Liquid Xenon Gamma-Ray Imaging Telescope (LXeGRIT) for medium energy astrophysics", Proc. SPIE 2806, Gamma-Ray and Cosmic-Ray Detectors, Techniques, and Missions, (18 October 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.253996

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