Speaker
Description
The X-ray Calibration Facility (XCF) at the University and INFN of Torino is dedicated to the calibration and characterization of X-ray detectors, sensible to position, energy and polarization.
The facility is focused on the study of the Gas Pixel Detectors [1] for x-rays polarimetry of astrophysical sources, developed at INFN-Pisa. Such detectors are the core of the detector units of the IXPE ( Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) mission, that was launched by NASA on December 2021 and is currently taking data. Upgrades of the GPD are under study for future x-ray polarimetry missions.
The XCF facility hosts two X-ray tubes spanning energy ranges from 2 to 8 keV, providing two distinct beams, one of which is polarized via Bragg's diffraction. A positioning system allows to move the detector to be tested under the polarized or unpolarized beams.
Although conceived to qualify GPDs, XCF can support R&D programs for innovative position-energy and polarization-sensitive X-ray detectors. In this contribution the Gas pixel Detector and the XCF facility are described.
[1] L. Baldini et al, Design, construction, and test of the Gas Pixel Detectors for the IXPE mission, Astroparticle Physics, Volume 133, 2021,102628, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2021.102628.
