Experimental verification of off-axis polarimetry with cadmium zinc telluride detectors of AstroSat-CZT imager

Abstract

The cadmium zinc telluride imager (CZTI) on board AstroSat consists of an array of a large number of pixelated cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) detectors capable of measuring the polarization of incident hard x-rays. The polarization measurement capability of CZTI for on-axis sources was experimentally confirmed before the launch. CZTI has yielded tantalizing results on the x-ray polarization of the Crab nebula and pulsar in the energy range of 100 to 380 keV. CZTI has also contributed to the measurement of prompt emission polarization for several gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). However, polarization measurements of off-axis sources such as GRBs are challenging. It is vital to experimentally calibrate the CZTI sensitivity to off-axis sources to enhance the credence of the measurements. In this context, we report the verification of the off-axis polarimetric capability of pixelated CZT detectors through controlled experiments carried out with a CZT detector similar to that used in CZTI and extensive Geant4 simulations of the experimental setup. Our current results show that the CZT detectors can be used to measure the polarization of bright GRBs with off-axis angles of up to ∼60 deg. However, at incidence angles between 45 deg and 60 deg, there might be some systematic effects that need to be taken into account when interpreting the measured polarization fraction.