Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Compton and pair creation telescope”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

5 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2016

The e-astrogam Gamma-Ray Space Mission

e-ASTROGAM is a gamma-ray space mission to be proposed as the M5 Medium-size mission of the European Space Agency. It is dedicated to the observation of the Universe with unprecedented sensitivity in the energy range 0.2-100 MeV, extending up to GeV energies, together with a groundbreaking polarization capability. It is designed to substantially improve the COMPTEL and Fermi sensitivities in the MeV-GeV energy range and to open new windows of opportunity for astrophysical and fundamental physics space research. e-ASTROGAM will operate as an open astronomical observatory, with a core science focused on (1) the activity from extreme particle accelerators, including gamma-ray bursts and active galactic nuclei and the link of jet astrophysics to the new astronomy of gravitational waves, neutrinos, ultra-high energy cosmic rays, (2) the high-energy mysteries of the Galactic center and inner Galaxy, including the activity of the supermassive black hole, the Fermi Bubbles, the origin of the Galactic positrons, and the search for dark matter signatures in a new energy window; (3) nucleosynthesis and chemical evolution, including the life cycle of elements produced by supernovae in the Milky Way and the Local Group of galaxies. e-ASTROGAM will be ideal for the study of high-energy sources in general, including pulsars and pulsar wind nebulae, accreting neutron stars and black holes, novae, supernova remnants, and magnetars. And it will also provide important contributions to solar and terrestrial physics. The e-ASTROGAM telescope is optimized for the simultaneous detection of Compton and pair-producing gamma-ray events over a large spectral band. It is based on a very high technology readiness level for all subsystems and includes many innovative features for the detectors and associated electronics.

Compton and pair creation telescope↗
NASA NTRS2022

High-energy Photon Opacity in the Twisted Magnetospheres of Magnetars

Magnetars are neutron stars characterized by strong surface magnetic fields generally exceeding the quantum critical value of 44.1 TG. High-energy photons propagating in their magnetospheres can be attenuated by QED processes like photon splitting and magnetic pair creation. In this paper, we compute the opacities due to photon splitting and pair creation by photons emitted anywhere in the magnetosphere of a magnetar. Axisymmetric, twisted dipole field configurations embedded in the Schwarzschild metric are treated. The paper computes the maximum energies for photon transparency that permit propagation to infinity in curved spacetime. Special emphasis is given to cases where photons are generated along magnetic field loops and/or in polar regions; these cases directly relate to resonant inverse Compton scattering models for the hard X-ray emission from magnetars and Comptonized soft gamma-ray emission from giant flares. We find that increases in magnetospheric twists raise or lower photon opacities, depending on both the emission locale and the competition between field-line straightening and field strength enhancement. Consequently, given the implicit spectral transparency of hard X-ray bursts and persistent "tail" emission of magnetars, photon splitting considerations constrain their emission region locales and the twist angle of the magnetosphere; these constraints can be probed by future soft gamma-ray telescopes such as COSI and AMEGO. The inclusion of twists generally increases the opaque volume of pair creation by photons above its threshold, except when photons are emitted in polar regions and approximately parallel to the field.

radiation mechanisms: non-thermal↗
NASA NTRS2019

Magnetars as Astrophysical Laboratories of Extreme Quantum Electrodynamics: The Case for a Compton Telescope

A next generation of Compton and pair telescopes that improve MeV-band detection sensitivity by more than a decade beyond current instrumental capabilities will open up new insights into a variety of astrophysical source classes. Among these are magnetars, the most highly magnetic of the neutron star zoo, which will serve as a prime science target for a new mission surveying the MeV window. This paper outlines the core questions pertaining to magnetars that can be addressed by such a technology. These range from global magnetar geometry and population trends, to incisive probes of hard X-ray emission locales, to providing cosmic laboratories for spectral and polarimetric testing of exotic predictions of QED, principally the prediction of the splitting of photons and magnetic pair creation. Such fundamental physics cannot yet be discerned in terrestrial experiments. State of the art modeling of the persistent hard X-ray tail emission in magnetars is presented to outline the case for powerful diagnostics using Compton polarimeters. The case highlights an inter-disciplinary opportunity to seed discovery at the interface between astronomy and physics.

Wadiasingh, Zorawar↗
NASA NTRS2000

High-Energy Spectral Signatures in Gamma-Ray Bursts

One of the principal results obtained by the EGRET experiment aboard the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO) was the detection of several gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) above 100 MeV. The broad-band spectra obtained for these bursts gave no indication of any high energy spectral attenuation that might preclude detection of bursts by ground-based Cerenkov telescopes (ACTs), thus motivating several TeV observational programs. This paper explores the expectations for the spectral properties in the TeV and sub-TeV bands for bursts, in particular how attenuation of photons by pair creation internal to the source modifies the spectrum to produce distinctive spectral signatures. The energy of spectral breaks and the associated spectral indices provide valuable information that can constrain the bulk Lorentz factor of the GRB outflow at a given time. These characteristics define palpable observational goals for ACT programs, and strongly impact the observability of bursts in the TeV band.

Baring, Matthew G.↗
NASA NTRS1999

High-Energy Spectral Signatures in Gamma-Ray Bursts

One of the principal results obtained by the EGRET experiment aboard the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO) was the detection of several gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) above 100 MeV. The broad-band spectra obtained for these bursts gave no indication of any high-energy spectral attenuation that might preclude detection of bursts by ground-based Cerenkov telescopes (ACTs), thus motivating several TeV observational programs. This paper explores the expectations for the spectral properties in the TeV and sub-TeV bands for bursts, in particular how attenuation of photons by pair creation internal to the source modifies the spectrum to produce distinctive spectral signatures. The energy of spectral breaks and the associated spectral indices provide valuable information that can constrain the bulk Lorentz factor of the GRB outflow at a given time. These characteristics define palpable observational goals for ACT programs, and strongly impact the observability of bursts in the TeV band.

Baring, Matthew D.↗