PoS - Proceedings of Science
Volume 395 - 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2021) - GAD - Gamma Ray Direct
Development and science perspectives of the POLAR-2 instrument: a large scale GRB polarimeter
N. De Angelis*  on behalf of the POLAR-2 collaboration
Full text: pdf
Pre-published on: July 13, 2021
Published on: March 18, 2022
Abstract
Despite several decades of multi-wavelength and multi-messenger spectral observations, Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) remain one of the big mysteries of modern astrophysics. Polarization measurements are essential to gain a more clear and complete picture of the emission processes at work in these extremely powerful transient events. In this regard, a first generation of dedicated $\gamma$-ray polarimeters, POLAR and GAP, were launched into space in the last decade. After 6 months of operation, the POLAR mission detected 55 GRBs, among which 14 have been analyzed in detail, reporting a low polarization degree and a hint of a temporal evolution of the polarization angle. Starting early 2024 and based on the legacy of the POLAR results, the POLAR-2 instrument will aim to provide a catalog of high quality measurements of the energy and temporal evolution of the GRB polarization thanks to its large and efficient polarimeter. Several spectrometer modules will additionally allow to perform joint spectral and polarization analyzes. The mission is foreseen to detect about 50 good quality GRBs per year on board of the China Space Station (CSS). The technical design of the polarimeter modules will be discussed in detail, as well as the expected scientific performances based on the first results of the developed prototype modules.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22323/1.395.0580
How to cite

Metadata are provided both in "article" format (very similar to INSPIRE) as this helps creating very compact bibliographies which can be beneficial to authors and readers, and in "proceeding" format which is more detailed and complete.

Open Access
Creative Commons LicenseCopyright owned by the author(s) under the term of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.