Gas Gain Measurements from a Negative Ion TPC X-ray Polarimeter

Gas-based time projection chambers (TPCs) have been shown to be highly sensitive X-ray polarimeters having excellent quantum efficiency while at the same time achieving large modulation factors. To observe polarization of the prompt X-ray emission of a Gamma-ray burst (GRB), a large area detector is needed. Diffusion of the electron cloud in a standard TPC could be prohibitive to measuring good modulation when the drift distance is large. Therefore, we propose using a negative ion TPC (NITPC) with Nitromethane (CH3NO2) as the electron capture agent. The diffusion of negative ions is reduced over that of electrons due to the thermal coupling of the negative ions to the surrounding gas. This allows for larger area detectors as the drift distance can be increased without degrading polarimeter modulation. Negative ions also travel ~200 times slower than electrons, allowing the readout electronics to operate slower, resulting in a reduction of instrument power. To optimize the NITPC design, we have measured gas gain with SciEnergy gas electron multipliers (GEMs) in single and double GEM configurations. Each setup was tested with different gas combinations, concentrations and pressures: P10 700 Torr, Ne+CO2 700 Torr at varying concentrations of CO2 and Ne+CO2+CH3NO2 700 Torr. We report gain as a function of total voltage, measured from top to bottom of the GEM stack, and as a function of drift field strength for the gas concentrations listed above. Examples of photoelectron tracks at 5.9 keV are also presented.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in IEEE Trans Nucl Sc

Evidence for 1122 Hz X-Ray Burst Oscillations from the Neutron-Star X-Ray Transient XTE J1739-285

We report on millisecond variability from the X-ray transient XTE J1739-285. We detected six X-ray type I bursts and found evidence for oscillations at 1122 +/- 0.3 Hz in the brightest X-ray burst. Taking into consideration the power in the oscillations and the number of trials in the search, the detection is significant at the 99.96% confidence level. If the oscillations are confirmed, the oscillation frequency would suggest that XTE J1739-285 contains the fastest rotating neutron star yet found. We also found millisecond quasiperiodic oscillations in the persistent emission with frequencies ranging from 757 Hz to 862 Hz. Using the brightest burst, we derive an upper limit on the source distance of about 10.6 kpc.Comment: To appear in ApJL, 4 page

Measuring the X-ray quantum efficiency of a hybrid CMOS detector with ^(55)Fe

Charge coupled devices (CCDs) are currently the workhorse focal plane arrays operating aboard many orbiting astrophysics X-ray telescopes, e.g. Chandra, XMM-Newton, Swift, and Suzaku. In order to meet the count rate, power, and mission duration requirements defined by next-generation X-ray telescopes, future detectors will need to be read out faster, consume less power, and be more resistant to radiation and micrometeoroid damage than current-generation devices. The hybrid CMOS detector (HCD), a type of active pixel sensor, is currently being developed to meet these requirements. With a design architecture that involves bump bonding two semiconductor substrates together at the pixel level, these devices exhibit both the high read speed and low power consumption of CMOS readout circuitry and the high quantum efficiency (QE) of a deeply depleted silicon absorber. These devices are expected to exhibit the same excellent, high-energy quantum efficiency (QE) as deep-depletion CCDs (QE>0.9QE>0.9 at 6 keV), while at the same time exhibiting superior readout flexibility, power consumption, and radiation hardness than CCDs. In this work we present a QE model for a Teledyne Imaging Sensors HyViSI HCD, which predicts QE=96% at ^(55)Fe source energies (5.89 and 6.49 keV). We then present a QE measurement of the modeled device at the same energies, which shows QE=97±5% and is in good agreement with the model