Speaker
Description
The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) is the state-of-the-art of astrophysical X-ray polarimetry. Launched on 9 December 2021, IXPE is the product of a collaboration between NASA and ASI. It can measure the linear polarization of different astrophysical sources over the photon energy range 2-8 keV. Polarization can provide a new observable to get information about the geometry both of the emitting matter and of the magnetic and gravitational fields of the source. Some examples are the Active Galactic Nuclei and the X-ray binaries. In the first case, polarization allows us to study the magnetic field in the jet of Blazars, investigating the possible time variability of the polarization angle. In the second case it can provide information about the emission region geometry.
The heart of IXPE Detector Unit is the Gas Pixel Detector, that can be characterized and studied using the X-ray Calibration Facility at the Physics Department of the University of Turin. XCF is also suitable for calibration and test of energy-, position- and polarization- sensitive detectors.
