X-ray polarimetry: A new window on the high energy sky

Opening a New Window to Fundamental Physics and Astrophysics: X-ray Polarimetry

An extensive theoretical literature predicts that X-ray Polarimetry can directly determine relevant physical and geometrical parameters of astrophysical sources, and discriminate between models further than allowed by spectral and timing data only. X-ray Polarimetry can also provide tests of Fundamental Physics. A high sensitivity polarimeter in the focal plane of a New Generation X-ray telesco...

High-(Energy)-Lights The Very High Energy Gamma-Ray Sky

The high-lights of ground-based very-high-energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) gammaray astronomy are reviewed. The summary covers both Galactic and extragalactic sources. Implications for our understanding of the non-thermal Universe are discussed. Identified VHE sources include various types of supernova remnants (shell-type, mixed morphology, composite) including pulsar wind nebulae, and X-ray binary s...

A photoelectric polarimeter for XEUS: a new window in x-ray sky

XEUS is a large area telescope aiming to rise X-ray Astronomy to the level of Optical Astronomy in terms of collecting areas. It will be based on two satellites, locked on a formation flight, one with the optics, one with the focal plane. The present design of the focal plane foresees, as an auxiliary instrument, the inclusion of a Polarimeter based on a Micropattern Chamber. We show how such a...

X-ray polarimetry on-board HXMT

The development of micropixel gas detectors, capable to image tracks produced in a gas by photoelectrons, makes possible to perform polarimetry of X-ray celestial sources in the focus of grazing incidence X-ray telescopes. HXMT is a mission by the Chinese Space Agency aimed to survey the Hard X-ray Sky with Phoswich detectors, by exploitation of the direct demodulation technique. Since a fracti...

X-ray and Gamma-ray Polarimetry