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  • Costa, Enrico; Bellazzini, Ronaldo; Soffitta, Paolo; Muleri, Fabio; Feroci, Marco; Frutti, Massimo; Mastropietro, Marcello; Pacciani, Luigi; Rubini, Alda; Morelli, Ennio; Baldini, Luca; Bitti, Francesco; Brez, Alessandro; Cavalca, Francesco; Latronico, Luca; Massai, Marco Maria; Omodei, Nicola; Pinchera, Michele; Sgro', Carmelo; Spandre, Gloria; Giorgio, Matt; Giuseppe Cesare Perola; Chincarini, Guido; Citterio, Oberto; Tagliaferri, Gianpiero; Pareschi, Giovanni; Cotroneo, Vincenzo

    arXiv.org, 09/2006
    Paper

    X-Ray Polarimetry can be now performed by using a Micro Pattern Gas Chamber in the focus of a telescope. It requires large area optics for most important scientific targets. But since the technique is additive a dedicated mission with a cluster of small telescopes can perform many important measurements and bridge the 40 year gap between OSO-8 data and future big telescopes such as XEUS. POLARIX has been conceived as such a pathfinder. It is a Small Satellite based on the optics of JET-X. Two telescopes are available in flight configuration and three more can be easily produced starting from the available superpolished mandrels. We show the capabilities of such a cluster of telescopes each equipped with a focal plane photoelectric polarimeter and discuss a few alternative solutions.