The Compton Spectrometer and Imager

John A. Tomsick; Andreas Zoglauer; Clio Sleator; Hadar Lazar; Jacqueline Beechert; Steven Boggs; Jarred Roberts; Thomas Siegert; Alex Lowell; Eric Wulf; Eric Grove; Bernard Phlips; Terri Brandt; Alan Smale; Carolyn Kierans; Eric Burns; Dieter Hartmann; Mark Leising; Marco Ajello; Chris Fryer; Mark Amman; Hsiang-Kuang Chang; Pierre Jean; Peter von Ballmoos

arXiv · 1908.04334

The Compton Spectrometer and Imager

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Abstract

In this Astro2020 APC White Paper, we describe a Small Explorer (SMEX) mission concept called the Compton Spectrometer and Imager. COSI is a Compton telescope that covers the bandpass often referred to as the "MeV Gap" because it is the least explored region of the whole electromagnetic spectrum. COSI provides a significant improvement in sensitivity along with high-resolution spectroscopy, enabling studies of 511 keV electron-positron annihilation emission and measurements of several radioactive elements that trace the Galactic history of supernovae. COSI also measures polarization of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), accreting black holes, and pulsars as well as detecting and localizing multimessenger sources. In the following, we describe the COSI science, the instrument, and its capabilities. We highlight many Astro2020 science WPs that describe the COSI science in depth.

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BibTeX RIS

John A. Tomsick, Andreas Zoglauer, Clio Sleator, Hadar Lazar, Jacqueline Beechert, Steven Boggs, Jarred Roberts, Thomas Siegert, Alex Lowell, Eric Wulf, Eric Grove, Bernard Phlips, Terri Brandt, Alan Smale, Carolyn Kierans, Eric Burns, Dieter Hartmann, Mark Leising, Marco Ajello, Chris Fryer, Mark Amman, Hsiang-Kuang Chang, Pierre Jean, Peter von Ballmoos. 2019-08-12. The Compton Spectrometer and Imager. https://arxiv.org/abs/1908.04334

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