Alex Shaw Jr L&S Math & Physical Sciences
Improving Energy Resolution for the COSI Satellite
Humans have sent nearly 100 telescopes into space, each sensitive to electromagnetic radiation in a particular energy range. Inherent inconveniences in instrumental techniques have rendered the 0.1 – 100 MeV range rather difficult to explore: a regrettable circumstance, for the domain of nuclear physics–including signatures of nucleosynthesis–lies therein. The Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) is a telescope being developed that is designed for imaging and performing spectroscopy precisely in that spectrum from 0.2 – 5 MeV. It comprises 16 germanium detectors (GeDs) with excellent energy and sub-mm 3D position resolutions. My project will focus on improving the energy resolution of the GeDs by incorporating information from sub-threshold readout channels. These improvements will strengthen COSI’s effectiveness at meeting all of its goals by facilitating the development of many studies, such as nucleosynthetic investigations that involve measurements of narrow emission lines.
Message To Sponsor
Dear Various Donors, Please accept my gratitude for your financial support. I've developed quite a few skills over the summer and made significant progress in a project (see updates by following the COSI satellite), and that would have been rather more difficult had I been unable to buy avocados for my breakfast, which furnished me with a large amount of healthy fats and antioxidants.