Stefan Rydström

Balloon-borne hard X-ray polarimetry with PoGOLite

PoGOLite is a hard X-ray polarimeter operating in the 25-100 keY energy band. The instrument design is optimised for the observation of compact astrophysical sources. Observations are conducted from a stabilised stratospheric balloon platform at an altitude of approximately 40 km. The primary targets for first balloon flights of a reduced effective area instrument are the Crab and Cygnus-Xl. The polarisation of incoming photons is determined using coincident Compton scattering and photoabsorption events reconstructed in an array of plastic scintillator detector cells surrounded by a bismuth germanate oxide (BGO) side anticoincidence shield and a polyethylene neutron shield. A custom attitude control system keeps the polarimeter field-of-view aligned to targets of interest, compensating for sidereal motion and perturbations such as torsional forces in the balloon rigging. An overview of the PoGOLite project is presented and the outcome of the ill-fated maiden balloon flight is discussed.

Observation of polarized hard X-ray emission from the Crab by the PoGOLite Pathfinder

We have measured the linear polarization of hard X-ray emission from the Crab in a previously unexplored energy interval, 20-120 keV. The introduction of two new observational parameters, the polar ...

PoGOLino: A scintillator-based balloon-borne neutron detector

PoGOLino is a balloon borne scintillator-based experiment developed to study the largely unexplored high altitude neutron environment at high geomagnetic latitudes. The instrument comprises two det ...

The design and flight performance of the PoGOLite Pathfinder balloon-borne hard X-ray polarimeter

In the 50 years since the advent of X-ray astronomy there have been many scientific advances due to the development of new experimental techniques for detecting and characterising X-rays. Observations of X-ray polarisation have, however, not undergone a similar development. This is a shortcoming since a plethora of open questions related to the nature of X-ray sources could be resolved through measurements of the linear polarisation of emitted X-rays. The PoGOLite Pathfinder is a balloon-borne hard X-ray polarimeter operating in the 25-240 keV energy band from a stabilised observation platform. Polarisation is determined using coincident energy deposits in a segmented array of plastic scintillators surrounded by a BGO anticoincidence system and a polyethylene neutron shield. The PoGOLite Pathfinder was launched from the SSC Esrange Space Centre in July 2013. A near-circumpolar flight was achieved with a duration of approximately two weeks. The flight performance of the Pathfinder design is discussed for the three Crab observations conducted. The signal-to-background ratio for the observations is shown to be 0.25 ±0.03 and the Minimum Detectable Polarisation (99 % C.L.) is (28.4 ±2.2) %. A strategy for the continuation of the PoGOLite programme is outlined based on experience gained during the 2013 maiden flight.

A system for distributing high-speed synchronous high-precision clock and trigger data over large distances

The distribution of precise timing throughout the European X-ray Free Electron Laser project [1] (XFEL) and its triggering system is a very challenging part of the system design. ADCs in data acquisition systems and DACs in control systems will require very high precision clocks. The clocks need to be synchronous to each other, both in frequency and phase, with a jitter performance better than 5 ps (RMS). At some high-speed ADCs it might even need a precision down to 0.1ps. The frequencies that must be available are the main 1.3 GHz and some frequencies below, which are all derived from the main frequency. The phase needs to be adjustable to allow synchronization between separate devices.

A thermal-neutron detector with a phoswich system of LiCaAlF 6 and BGO crystal scintillators onboard PoGOLite

To measure the flux of atmospheric neutrons and study the neutron contribution to the background of the main detector of the PoGOLite (Polarized Gamma-ray Observer) balloon-borne experiment, a thermal-neutron detector with a phoswich system of LiCaAlF6 (Eu) and BGO crystal scintillators is developed. The performance to separate thermal-neutron events from those of gamma-rays and charged particles is validated with 252Cf on ground. The detector is attached to the PoGOLite instrument and is launched in 2011 from the Esrange facility in the North of Sweden. Although the emission wavelength of the LiCaAlF6 (Ce) is ∼ 300 nm and overlaps with the absorption wavelength of the BGO, the phoswich capability of the LiCaAlF6 (Ce) with the BGO is also confirmed with installing a waveform shifter.

Beam test results of the polarized gamma-ray observer, PoGOLite

The Polarized Gamma-ray Observer, PoGOLite, is a balloon experiment with the capability of detecting 10% polarization from a 200 mCrab celestial object in the energy range 25–80 keV. During a beam test at KEK-PF in February 2008, 20 detector units were assembled, and a 50 keV X-ray beam with a polarization degree of ∼90% was irradiated at the center unit. Signals from all 20 units were fed into flightversion electronics consisting of six circuit boards (four waveform digitizer boards, one digital I/O board and one router board) and one microprocessor (SpaceCube), which communicate using a SpaceWire interface. One digitizer board, which can associate up to 8 PDCs, outputs a trigger signal. The digital I/O board handles the trigger and returns a data acquisition request if there is no veto signal (upper or pulse-shape discriminators) from any detector unit. This data acquisition system worked well, and the modulation factor was successfully measured to be ∼34%. These results confirmed the capabilities of both detector and data-acquisition system for a pathfinder flight planned in 2010.

The data acquisition system of the Stockholm Educational Air Shower Array

The Stockholm Educational Air Shower Array (SEASA) project is deploying an array of plastic scintillator detector stations on school roofs in the Stockholm area. Signals from GPS satellites are used to time synchronise signals from the widely separated detector stations, allowing cosmic ray air showers to be identified and studied. A low-cost and highly scalable data acquisition system has been produced using embedded Linux processors which communicate station data to a central server running a MySQL database. Air shower data can be visualised in real-time using a Java-applet client. It is also possible to query the database and manage detector stations from the client. In this paper, the design and performance of the system are described

Data acquisition system and ground calibration of polarized gamma-ray observer (PoGOLite)

The Polarized Gamma-ray Observer, PoGOLite, is a balloon experiment with the capability of detecting 10% polarization from a 200 mCrab celestial object between the energy-range 25–80 keV in one 6 hour flight. Polarization measurements in soft gamma-rays are expected to provide a powerful probe into high-energy emission mechanisms in/around neutron stars, black holes, supernova remnants, active-galactic nuclei etc. The “pathfinder” flight was performed in July 2013 for 14 days from Sweden to Russia. The polarization is measured using Compton scattering and photoelectric absorption in an array of 61 well-type phoswich detector cells (PDCs) for the pathfinder instrument. The PDCs are surrounded by 30 BGO crystals which form a side anti-coincidence shield (SAS) and passive polyethylene neutron shield. There is a neutron detector consisting of LiCaAlF6 (LiCAF) scintillator covered with BGOs to measure the background contribution of atmospheric neutrons. The data acquisition system treats 92 PMT signals from 61 PDCs + 30 SASs + 1 neutron detector, and it is developed based on SpaceWire spacecraft communication network. Most of the signal processing is done by digital circuits in Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). This enables the reduction of the mass, the space and the power consumption. The performance was calibrated before the launch.

Redundancy or GaAs? Two different approaches to solve the problem of SEU (Single Event Upset) in a digital optical link

The fast digital optical links for the ATLAS Liquid Argon Calorimeter must survive in a high radiation environment with a total fluence of 3x10 neutrons (1MeV Si)/cm and 10 kGy (Si). The links based on Agilent Technologies Glink serializer/deserializer set, show a total dose radiation resistance to neutrons and gammas that would allow for 10 years of operation in the ATLAS detector. We have observed, however, an unacceptable rate of single event upsets (SEU) due to neutrons interacting in the silicon-based serializer. In order to solve this problem, we have developed two link systems. The first one, Dual-Glink, is based on a principle of redundancy: data are sent on two independent links. On the reception side, data are analyzed and error recovery is performed without dead time. The second solution uses a GaAs serializer/deserializer set from TriQuint. We observe a very small number of SEU’s. In addition, high speed of 2.5 Gb/s allows for transmission of the data twice during one event period and for error recovery. The design of the 3 types of links, their performance in the laboratory and the results of the radiation tests are presented for all systems.