Development of a Thomson X-ray Polarimeter

We describe the current status of the design and development of a Thomson X-ray polarimeter suitable for a small satellite mission. Currently we are considering two detector geometries, one using rectangular detectors placed on four sides of a scattering element and the other using a single cylindrical detector with the scattering element at the center. The rectangular detector configuration has been fabricated and tested. The cylindrical detector is currently under fabrication. In order to compensate any pointing offset of the satellite, a collimator with a flat topped response has been developed that provides a constant effective area over an angular range. We have also developed a double crystal monochromator/polariser for the purpose of test and calibration of the polarimeter. Preliminary test results from the developmental activities are presented here.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, in "X-ray Polarimetry: A New Window in Astrophysics", edited by R. Bellazzini, E. Costa, G. Matt and G. Tagliaferri, Cambridge University Press (proceedings of "The Coming of Age of X-ray Polarimetry," Rome, Italy, April 27-30, 2009

Magnetic Calorimeter Option for the Lynx X-Ray Microcalorimeter

One option for the detector technology to implement the Lynx x-ray microcalorimeter (LXM) focal plane arrays is the metallic magnetic calorimeter (MMC). Two-dimensional imaging arrays of MMCs measure the energy of x-ray photons by using a paramagnetic sensor to detect the temperature rise in a microfabricated x-ray absorber. While small arrays of MMCs have previously been demonstrated that have energy resolution better than the 3 eV requirement for LXM, we describe LXM prototype MMC arrays that have 55,800 x-ray pixels, thermally linked to 5688 sensors in hydra configurations, and that have sensor inductance increased to avoid signal loss from the stray inductance in the large-scale arrays when the detectors are read out with microwave superconducting quantum interference device multiplexers, and that use multilevel planarized superconducting wiring to provide low-inductance, low-crosstalk connections to each pixel. We describe the features of recently tested MMC prototype devices and simulations of expected performance in designs opti- mized for the three subarray types in LXM

Observations on Stratospheric-Mesospheric-Thermospheric temperatures using Indian MST radar and co-located LIDAR during Leonid Meteor Shower (LMS)

International audienceThe temporal and height statistics of the occurrence of meteor trails during the Leonid meteor shower revealed the capability of the Indian MST radar to record large numbers of meteor trails. The distribution of radio meteor trails due to a Leonid meteor shower in space and time provided a unique opportunity to construct the height profiles of lower thermospheric temperatures and winds, with good time and height resolution. There was a four-fold increase in the meteor trails observed during the LMS compared to a typical non-shower day. The temperatures were found to be in excellent continuity with the temperature profiles below the radio meteor region derived from the co-located Nd-Yag LIDAR and the maximum height of the temperature profile was extended from the LIDAR to ~110 km. There are, how-ever, some significant differences between the observed profiles and the CIRA-86 model profiles. The first results on the meteor statistics and neutral temperature are presented and discussed below. Key words. Atmospheric composition and structure (pres-sure, density, and temperature) History of geophysics (at-mospheric sciences) Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (middle atmosphere dynamics

Multimode bolometer development for the PIXIE instrument

The Primordial Inflation Explorer (PIXIE) is an Explorer-class mission concept designed to measure the polarization and absolute intensity of the cosmic microwave background. In the following, we report on the design, fabrication, and performance of the multimode polarization-sensitive bolometers for PIXIE, which are based on silicon thermistors. In particular we focus on several recent advances in the detector design, including the implementation of a scheme to greatly raise the frequencies of the internal vibrational modes of the large-area, low-mass optical absorber structure consisting of a grid of micromachined, ion-implanted silicon wires. With $\sim30$ times the absorbing area of the spider-web bolometers used by Planck, the tensioning scheme enables the PIXIE bolometers to be robust in the vibrational and acoustic environment at launch of the space mission. More generally, it could be used to reduce microphonic sensitivity in other types of low temperature detectors. We also report on the performance of the PIXIE bolometers in a dark cryogenic environment.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

The combined effects of electrojet strength and the geomagnetic activity (<I>K_p</I>-index) on the post sunset height rise of the F-layer and its role in the generation of ESF during high and low solar activity periods

International audienceSeveral investigations have been carried out to identify the factors that are responsible for the day-to-day variability in the occurrence of equatorial spread-F (ESF). But the precise forecasting of ESF on a day-to-day basis is still far from reality. The nonlinear development and the sustenance of ESF/plasma bubbles is decided by the background ionospheric conditions, such as the base height of the F-layer (h'F), the electron density gradient (dN/dz), maximum ionization density (Nmax), geomagnetic activity and the neutral dynamics. There is increasing evidence in the literature during the recent past that shows a well developed Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA) during the afternoon hours contributes significantly to the initiation of ESF during the post-sunset hours. Also, there exists a good correlation between the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA) and the Integrated Equatorial ElectroJet (IEEJ) strength, as the driving force for both is the same, namely, the zonal electric field at the equator. In this paper, we present a linear relationship that exists between the daytime integrated equatorial electrojet (IEEJ) strength and the maximum elevated height of the F-layer during post-sunset hours (denoted as peak h'F). An inverse relationship that exists between the 6-h average Kp-index prior to the local sunset and the peak h'F of the F-layer is also presented. A systematic study on the combined effects of the IEEJ and the average Kp-index on the post-sunset, peak height of the F-layer (peak h'F), which controls the development of ESF/plasma bubbles, is carried out using the ionosonde data from an equatorial station, Trivandrum (8.47° N, 76.91° E, dip.lat. 0.5° N), an off-equatorial station, SHAR (13.6° N, 79.8° E, dip.lat. 10.8° N) and VHF scintillations (244 MHz) observed over a nearby low-latitude station, Waltair (17.7° N, 83.3° E, dip.lat. 20° N). From this study, it has been found that the threshold base height of the F-layer at the equator for the development of plasma bubbles is reduced from 405 km to 317 km as the solar activity decreases from March 2001 (mean Rz=113.5) to March 2005 (mean Rz=24.5). This decrease in threshold height with the decreasing solar activity is explained on the basis of changes in the local linear growth rate of the collisional Rayleigh-Taylor instability, due to the variability of various terms such as inverse density gradient scale length (L?1), ion-neutral collision frequency (?in) and recombination rate (R) with the changes in the solar activity

Prototype Magnetic Calorimeter Arrays with Buried Wiring for the Lynx X-Ray Microcalorimeter

Metallic magnetic calorimeter (MMC) technology is a leading contender for detectors for the Lynx X-ray Microcalorimeter, which is an imaging spectrometer consisting of an array of greater than 100,000 pixels. The fabrication of such large arrays presents a challenge when attempting to route the superconducting wiring from the pixels to the multiplexed readout. If the wiring is designed to be planar, then an aggressive, submicron scale wiring pitch has to be employed, which is technically challenging to design and fabricate on account of the requirements of low inductance, low cross-talk, high critical currents and high yield. An alternative way to achieve large scale, high density wiring is through the use of multiple buried metal layers, planarized by Chemical Mechanical Planarization. This approach is well-suited for connecting thousands of pixels on a large focal plane to readout chips, and also for fabricating sensor meander coils with narrow line widths, which helps in increasing the sensor inductance and thus alleviates stray inductance issues associated with the wiring in large size arrays. In this work we describe the fabrication of high sensor inductance MMC arrays implementing Lynx concepts and incorporating multiple layers of buried Nb wiring. The detector array is composed of three sub-arrays with pixels optimized to meet the different science driven performance requirements of Lynx. In two of the sub-arrays we adopt a thermal multiplexing scheme to read out pixels by coupling 25 absorbers to a single sensor through thermal links of varied thermal conductance. We demonstrate the successful fabrication of multi-absorber MMCs with fine pitch pixels in very large size arrays

Multimode Bolometer Development for the PIXIE Instrument

The Primordial Inflation Explorer (PIXIE) is an Explorer-class mission concept designed to measure the polarization and absolute intensity of the cosmic microwave background. In the following, we report on the design, fabrication, and performance of the multimode polarization-sensitive bolometers for PIXIE, which are based on silicon thermistors. In particular we focus on several recent advances in the detector design, including the implementation of a scheme to greatly raise the frequencies of the internal vibrational modes of the large-area, low-mass optical absorber structure consisting of a grid of micromachined, ion-implanted silicon wires. With approximately 30 times the absorbing area of the spider-web bolometers used by Planck, the tensioning scheme enables the PIXIE bolometers to be robust in the vibrational and acoustic environment at launch of the space mission. More generally, it could be used to reduce microphonic sensitivity in other types of low temperature detectors. We also report on the performance of the PIXIE bolometers in a dark cryogenic environment

The persistence of equatorial spread F - an analysis on seasonal, solar activity and geomagnetic activity aspects

The persistence (duration) of Equatorial Spread F (ESF), which has significant impact on communication systems, is addressed. Its behavior during different seasons and geomagnetic activity levels under the solar maximum (2001) and minimum (2006) conditions, is reported using the data from the magnetic equatorial location of Trivandrum (8.5° N; 77° E; dip 0.5° N) in India. The study reveals that the persistence of the irregularities can be estimated to a reasonable extent by knowing the post sunset F region vertical drift velocity (Vz) and the magnetic activity index Kp. Any sort of advance information on the possible persistence of the ionospheric irregularities responsible for ESF is important for understanding the scintillation morphology, and the results which form the first step in this direction are presented and discussed