Abstract
Although designed primarily as a hard X-ray imager and spectrometer, the Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) is also capable of measuring the polarization of hard X-rays (20–100 keV) from solar flares. This capability arises from the inclusion of a small unobstructed Be scattering element that is strategically located within the cryostat that houses the array of nine germanium detectors. The Ge detectors are segmented, with both a front and rear active volume. Low-energy photons (below about 100 keV) can reach a rear segment of a Ge detector only indirectly, by scattering. Low-energy photons from the Sun have a direct path to the Be and have a high probability of Compton scattering into a rear segment of a Ge detector. The azimuthal distribution of these scattered photons carries with it a signature of the linear polarization of the incident flux. Sensitivity estimates, based on Monte Carlo simulations and in-flight background measurements, indicate that a 20–100 keV polarization sensitivity of less than a few percent can be achieved for X-class flares.
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McConnell, M.L., Ryan, J.M., Smith, D.M., Lin, R.P., Emslie, A.G. (2003). RHESSI as a Hard X-ray Polarimeter. In: Lin, R.P., Dennis, B.R., Benz, A.O. (eds) The Reuven Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI). Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3452-3_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3452-3_7
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