Welcome to the new version of CaltechAUTHORS. Login is currently restricted to library staff. If you notice any issues, please email coda@library.caltech.edu
Published August 23, 2021 | Published
Book Section - Chapter Open

The Globe Orbiting Soft X-ray (GOSoX) polarimeter concept study

Abstract

We describe an implementation of a broad-band soft X-ray polarimeter, substantially based on previous designs. The Globe-Orbiting Soft X-ray Polarimeter (GOSoX) is a SmallSat. As in a related mission concept the PiSoX Polarimeter, the grating arrangement is designed optimally for the purpose of polarimetry matching the dispersion of a spectrometer to a laterally graded multilayer (LGML). For GOSoX, the optics are lightweight Si mirrors in a one-bounce parabolic configuration. The instrument covers the wavelength range from 31 A to 75 A (165 - 400 eV). Upon satellite rotation, the intensities of the dispersed spectra, after reflection and polarizing by the LGMLs, give the three Stokes parameters needed to determine a source's linear polarization fraction and orientation. The design can be extended to higher energies as LGMLs are developed further. We describe the potential scientific return and the proposed mission concept following the results of a JPL Team X concept study.

Additional Information

© 2021 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Support for this work was provided in part through NASA grants 80NSSC20K1249, NNH18ZDA001N, and NNX15AL14G. Laboratory supplies and equipment were funded in part through the MIT Kavli Research Investment Fund. Support for this work was also provided in part through NASA grant NNX17AG43G and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) contract SV3-73016 to MIT for support of the Chandra X-Ray Center (CXC), which is operated by SAO for and on behalf of NASA under contract NAS8-03060. We thank the JPL Team X group, led by Alfred Nash, for their work on the GOSoX concept study. We also thank the students of MIT's AeroAstro course 16.851 who worked on the GOSoX concept, especially in the areas of requirements and operations.

Attached Files

Published - 118220O.pdf

Files

118220O.pdf
Files (1.0 MB)
Name Size Download all
md5:93253be1431c41a876bf7a956c530914
1.0 MB Preview Download

Additional details

Created:
August 20, 2023
Modified:
January 15, 2024