BENGALURU: The Indian X-ray Polarimeter (POLIX), onboard India’s maiden X-ray polarimetry mission–XPoSat, one month after its launch has commenced its scientific observations, and has started generating data on the Crab Pulsar. The pulse profile is generated from the observations carried out by POLIX during January 15-18, 2024. The Crab Pulsar is a pulsating star, residing near the centre of the Crab Nebula and spins about its axis approximately 30 times per second, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a statement on Tuesday.
“This initial observation is a significant milestone for POLIX, showcasing its functionality and readiness for investigating pulsars, black holes, and other astronomical sources. As the sole payload offering data in this energy band, POLIX is poised to offer unique insights and contribute to understanding the physical processes associated with Astronomical X-ray sources,” added the statement.
The POLIX payload was activated in two stages by January 10, 2024, and initial scan observations were conducted around the Crab Pulsar, the intended first target. The data plotted was collected during January 15-18, 2024, and thoroughly reviewed for confirmation. Scientists affirmed that the data aligned with its expectations.
The payload was designed and developed by the X-ray Astronomy Laboratory at Raman Research Institute in Bengaluru. The instrument is built indigenously with the support from Indian industry.
“The plot also has the timing of non-pulsed emission components from the Pulsar Wind Nebula surrounding the Pulsar. The time window facilitates determining the X-rays emitted from the pulsar (but not from the wind nebula). The polarization of X-rays from the source is detectable as the degree of asymmetry in the scattering of X-rays in the instrument depends on the polarization of the incoming X-rays,” explained ISRO.
The other instrument, XSPECT, onboard XPoSat, is also ready for observations.