LAM seminar

Speaker: Dr. Frédéric MARIN (Observatoire astronomique Strasbourg)

Title: X-ray Polarimetry: a Wind of Change in Astrophysics

Abstract:

All types of cosmic sources have already been probed in photometry, spectroscopy, imaging and temporal analyses. However, there is one property of light that has not been exploited as much as the others: its polarization. For decades, high energies polarimetry was a missing piece in the great puzzle of our instrumental skills. In December 2021, that last piece of the puzzle has just been added. The NASA/ASI Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) satellite was launched to provide the very first polarized spectra and images of high-energy cosmic sources in the 2-8 keV band. During this seminar, I will present on behalf of the IXPE consortium the discoveries we have made thanks to high energy polarimetry. Remnants of supernovae, neutron stars, magnetars, X-ray binaries, micro-quasars, quasars and the Galactic center will be investigated. For each case, I will highlight the constraints that IXPE brought in terms of morphologies, magnetic fields intensities and geometries, and energy generation mechanisms to better understand those complex objects.