POLAR: a Gamma-Ray Burst Polarimeter in space

by Dr Silvio Orsi (University of Geneva, Switzerland)

Monday Nov 5, 2012, 3:00 PM → 4:00 PM Pacific/Honolulu

112 (Watanabe Hall)

POLAR is a novel space-borne Compton polarimeter conceived for the precise measurement of hard X-ray polarization in the prompt emission of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRB). The aim of POLAR is contributing to solving open questions in GRB physics, such as: what are the GRB source geometry and their emission mechanisms? A full-scale copy of the flight model is currently under test in Geneva. POLAR will be placed onboard the Chinese spacelab TG-2, scheduled for launch in low Earth orbit in 2014. The talk will describe the physics case, the design of POLAR and results of performance tests with synchrotron radiation.