A compact germanium spectrometer for nuclear astrophysics

Discussion timeslot (ZOOM-Meeting): 20. July 2021 - 18:00
ZOOM-Meeting URL: https://desy.zoom.us/j/91999581729
ZOOM-Meeting ID: 91999581729
ZOOM-Meeting Passcode: ICRC2021
Corresponding Session: https://icrc2021-venue.desy.de/channel/43-New-and-Upcoming-Instruments-for-Space-Based-Gamma-Ray-Astronomy-GAD/87
Live-Stream URL: https://icrc2021-venue.desy.de/livestream/Discussion-05/6

Abstract:
'Emission from electron-positron annihilation at 511 keV was the first extrasolar gamma-ray line ever detected. Despite more than 30 years of theoretical and observational progress, the origin of the positron population has yet to be identified, with potential candidates ranging from microquasars and X-ray binaries to annihilation or decay of dark matter particles.rnAt energies between 200 keV and several MeV, where positron annihilation and most other gamma-ray lines of interest are located, the largest source of instrumental background are secondary protons, neutrons, and photons produced by the spacecraft when it is irradiated by cosmic rays in a space environment. This background is the main factor limiting the sensitivity of current gamma-ray spectrometers, and is proportional to the amount of mass around the detectors.rnWe present a compact, modular, high-purity Germanium spectrometer that can be integrated into future astrophysics payloads and be the basis of small-satellite missions. A CubeSAT or SmallSAT-class mission based on compact spectrometer modules would have up to 40% of the total spacecraft mass in active germanium crystal, compared to smaller 0.6% in current missions like INTEGRAL, leading to more than an order-of-magnitude improvement in signal-to-noise ratio due the reduction in overall spacecraft mass.'

Authors: Zachary Hughes | Manel Errando | William Ho
Indico-ID: 1397
Proceeding URL: https://pos.sissa.it/395/592