A new low-background Compton telescope using LaBr[sub]3[/sub] scintillator

Peter F. Bloser; James M. Ryan; Jason S. Legere; Manuel Julien; Christopher M. Bancroft; Mark L. McConnell; Mark Wallace; R. Marc Kippen; Shawn Tornga

doi:10.1117/12.826191

20 August 2009 A new low-background Compton telescope using LaBr₃ scintillator

Peter F. Bloser, James M. Ryan, Jason S. Legere, Manuel Julien, Christopher M. Bancroft, Mark L. McConnell, Mark Wallace, R. Marc Kippen, Shawn Tornga

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7435, UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XVI; 74350H (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.826191
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2009, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Gamma-ray astronomy in the MeV range suffers from weak fluxes from sources and high background in the nuclear energy range. The background comes primarily from neutron-induced gamma rays, with the neutrons being produced by cosmic-ray interactions in the Earth's atmosphere, the spacecraft, and the instrument. Compton telescope designs often suppress this background by requiring coincidences in multiple detectors and a narrow time-of-flight (ToF) acceptance window. The COMPTEL experience on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory shows that a 1.9-ns ToF resolution is insufficiently narrow to achieve the required low background count rate. Furthermore, neutron interactions in the detectors themselves generate an irreducible background. By employing LaBr₃ scintillators for the calorimeter, one can take advantage of the unique speed and resolving power of the material to improve the instrument sensitivity and simultaneously enhance its spectroscopic performance and thus its imaging performance. We present a concept for a balloon- or space-borne Compton telescope that employs deuterated liquid in the scattering detector and LaBr₃ as a calorimeter and estimate the improvement in sensitivity over past realizations of Compton telescopes. We show initial laboratory test results from a small prototype, including energy and timing resolution. Finally, we describe our plan to fly this prototype on a test balloon flight to directly validate our background predictions and guide the development of a full-scale instrument.

Citation Download Citation

Peter F. Bloser, James M. Ryan, Jason S. Legere, Manuel Julien, Christopher M. Bancroft, Mark L. McConnell, Mark Wallace, R. Marc Kippen, and Shawn Tornga "A new low-background Compton telescope using LaBr₃ scintillator", Proc. SPIE 7435, UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XVI, 74350H (20 August 2009); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.826191

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