Observation of the Crab Nebula in Soft Gamma Rays with the Nuclear Compton Telescope
Abstract
Soft gamma rays (100 keV-10 MeV) are indispensable probes of the most violent and extreme processes in the cosmos. Gamma rays are produced by non-thermal processes in such disparate objects as neutron stars, X-ray binaries, and Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), and they also result from the decays of many radioactive nuclei, such as certain isotopes produced in supernova explosions. The penetrating nature of gamma rays allows the astrophysicist to probe deep within these often obscured systems and make unique and complementary observations of their gravitational fields, magnetic fields, and nuclear reactions.The challenges to soft gamma-ray measurements are numerous. First, the dominant interaction is Compton scattering, which necessitates careful imaging and simulation. Second, there is high background, predominantly from charged particle reactions and the activation of passive material in the instrument. Special care must be taken for background reduction, such as using active shielding and clever event selections. Third, atmospheric absorption of gamma rays necessitates being in space or at balloon altitudes to observe them.Over the last four decades, various types of telescopes have been developed to detect and image soft gamma-rays. One promising technology is the Compton telescope, which exploits the Compton effect to perform direct imaging of gamma-ray photons. The current generation of Compton telescopes are compact Compton telescopes, which rely on both fine position…
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