POLAR, a compact detector for gamma-ray bursts photon polarization measurements

The design and the simulated performances of a compact detector dedicated to the measurement of GRB photon polarization is presented. Such a detector would permit to answer the question “are most of the GRB strongly polarized?” in a mission of one year in space.

[1]  D. Besset,et al.  A set of efficient estimators for polarization measurements , 1979 .

[2]  W. Hajdas,et al.  Gamma-Ray Burst Polarization: Limits from RHESSI Measurements , 2004, astro-ph/0405525.

[3]  P. Diamond,et al.  The OH ground-state masers in W3(OH) – II. Polarization and multifrequency results , 2004 .

[4]  Jonathan Granot.  The Most Probable Cause for the High Gamma-Ray Polarization in GRB 021206 , 2003 .

[5]  T. Piran,et al.  Implications of the -ray polarization of GRB 021206 , 2003, astro-ph/0307290.

[6]  C. I. O. Technology.,et al.  Polarization of Prompt Gamma-Ray Burst Emission: Evidence for Electromagnetically Dominated Outflow , 2003, astro-ph/0305410.

[7]  S. Boggs,et al.  Polarization of the prompt γ-ray emission from the γ-ray burst of 6 December 2002 , 2003, Nature.

[8]  F. M. Zerbi,et al.  Polarization Evolution of the GRB 020405 Afterglow , 2002, astro-ph/0211245.

[9]  D. Palmer,et al.  BATSE observations of gamma-ray burst spectra. I: Spectral diversity , 1993 .

[10]  J. Brown,et al.  Nonsolar astronomy with the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) , 2003, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation.

[11]  Bing Zhang,et al.  Gamma-Ray Burst Early Optical Afterglows: Implications for the Initial Lorentz Factor and the Central Engine , 2003 .

[12]  B. Ramsey,et al.  IBIS: The Imager on-board INTEGRAL , 2003 .

[13]  R. Preece,et al.  Gamma-ray bursts : 4th Huntsville Symposium, Huntsville, AL, September 1997 , 1998 .

[14]  The GUSBAD Catalog of Gamma-Ray Bursts , 2004, astro-ph/0406519.

[15]  D. Fox,et al.  Re-analysis of polarization in the γ-ray flux of GRB 021206 , 2003, astro-ph/0310385.

[16]  P. Meszaros.  Gamma-ray bursts , 1998 .