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Segmented Gamma-Ray Scintillator Detectors with Directional Capabilities

TYPEStudent Seminar
Speaker:Lee Yacobi
Affiliation:Physics department, Technion
Date:24.05.2017
Time:13:30
Location:Lidow Asher Peres (502)
Abstract:Scintillator detectors are widely used for observations in the soft-gamma regime.

Their wide field of view is useful for astronomy of transient sources, e.g. gamma-ray bursts, soft gamma-ray repeaters, and blazars. 

Scintillators can be coupled with other telescopes in related energy bands, and make use of timing coincidence to study the physics of the sources. 

A standard scintillator provides no intrinsic angular resolution. An array of a few detectors helps reject by coincidence false triggering, but is still greatly limited in its ability to identify the direction of a source.

In this talk, we will present a concept of segmented scintillators that uses different inclinations and exploits the shading between segments, to provide good angular resolution.

The new configuration is still compact, economical, and benefits from a uniform coverage of the sky.

We will show experimental results and simulations that demonstrate how these improved capabilities could benefit future astronomical missions.