453 research outputs found
High time resolution observation of the transient event of 5 March 1979
The detection of an intense gamma ray burst with the monitor proportional counter on the HEAO 2 spacecraft is discussed with particular emphasis on the measurement of the time of onset of the event. Based on the mean observed counting rate in the burst and assuming a sharp rise, the uncertainty in the burst onset is found to be + or - 220 microseconds. The time of occurrence was 57124.826908 + or - 0.000220 s UT on March 5, 1979, and the location of the HEAO 2 satellite at this time was latitude 22.15 deg, longitude -27.60 deg at an altitude of 525.0 km
Imaging and burst location with the EXIST high-energy telescope
The primary instrument of the proposed EXIST mission is a coded mask high
energy telescope (the HET), that must have a wide field of view and extremely
good sensitivity. It will be crucial to minimize systematic errors so that even
for very long total integration times the imaging performance is close to the
statistical photon limit. There is also a requirement to be able to reconstruct
images on-board in near real time in order to detect and localize gamma-ray
bursts. This must be done while the spacecraft is scanning the sky. The
scanning provides all-sky coverage and is key to reducing systematic errors.
The on-board computational problem is made even more challenging for EXIST by
the very large number of detector pixels. Numerous alternative designs for the
HET have been evaluated. The baseline concept adopted depends on a unique coded
mask with two spatial scales. Monte Carlo simulations and analytic analysis
techniques have been used to demonstrate the capabilities of the design and of
the proposed two-step burst localization procedure
An ultrahigh-speed digitizer for the Harvard College Observatory astronomical plates
A machine capable of digitizing two 8 inch by 10 inch (203 mm by 254 mm)
glass astrophotographic plates or a single 14 inch by 17 inch (356 mm by 432
mm) plate at a resolution of 11 microns per pixel or 2309 dots per inch (dpi)
in 92 seconds is described. The purpose of the machine is to digitize the
\~500,000 plate collection of the Harvard College Observatory in a five year
time frame. The digitization must meet the requirements for scientific work in
astrometry, photometry, and archival preservation of the plates. This paper
describes the requirements for and the design of the subsystems of the machine
that was developed specifically for this task.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, 1 table; presented at SPIE (July, 2006) and
published in Proceeding
The High Energy Telescope on EXIST
The Energetic X-ray Imaging Survey Telescope (EXIST) is a proposed next
generation multi-wavelength survey mission. The primary instrument is a High
Energy telescope (HET) that conducts the deepest survey for Gamma-ray Bursts
(GRBs), obscured-accreting and dormant Supermassive Black Holes and Transients
of all varieties for immediate followup studies by the two secondary
instruments: a Soft X-ray Imager (SXI) and an Optical/Infrared Telescope (IRT).
EXIST will explore the early Universe using high redshift GRBs as cosmic probes
and survey black holes on all scales. The HET is a coded aperture telescope
employing a large array of imaging CZT detectors (4.5 m^2, 0.6 mm pixel) and a
hybrid Tungsten mask. We review the current HET concept which follows an
intensive design revision by the HET imaging working group and the recent
engineering studies in the Instrument and Mission Design Lab at the Goddard
Space Flight Center. The HET will locate GRBs and transients quickly (<10-30
sec) and accurately (< 20") for rapid (< 1-3 min) onboard followup soft X-ray
and optical/IR (0.3-2.2 micron) imaging and spectroscopy. The broad energy band
(5-600 keV) and the wide field of view (~90 deg x 70 deg at 10% coding
fraction) are optimal for capturing GRBs, obscured AGNs and rare transients.
The continuous scan of the entire sky every 3 hours will establish a
finely-sampled long-term history of many X-ray sources, opening up new
possibilities for variability studies.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables, SPIE conference proceedings (UV,
X-ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XVI, 7435-9
The hard quiescent spectrum of the neutron-star X-ray transient EXO 1745-248 in the globular cluster Terzan 5
We present a Chandra observation of the globular cluster Terzan 5 during
times when the neutron-star X-ray transient EXO 1745-248 located in this
cluster was in its quiescent state. We detected the quiescent system with a
(0.5-10 keV) luminosity of ~2 x 10^{33} ergs/s. This is similar to several
other neutron-star transients observed in their quiescent states. However, the
quiescent X-ray spectrum of EXO 1745--48 was dominated by a hard power-law
component instead of the soft component that usually dominates the quiescent
emission of other neutron-star X-ray transients. This soft component could not
conclusively be detected in EXO 1745-248 and we conclude that it contributed at
most 10% of the quiescent flux in the energy range 0.5-10 keV. EXO 1745-248 is
only the second neutron-star transient whose quiescent spectrum is dominated by
the hard component (SAX J1808.4-3658 is the other one). We discuss possible
explanations for this unusual behavior of EXO 1745-248, its relationship to
other quiescent neutron-star systems, and the impact of our results on
understanding quiescent X-ray binaries. We also discuss the implications of our
results on the way the low-luminosity X-ray sources in globular clusters are
classified.Comment: Accepted by ApJ Main Journal, September 22, 2004. Figure 2 is a color
figur
The SXI telescope on board EXIST: scientific performances
The SXI telescope is one of the three instruments on board EXIST, a
multiwavelength observatory in charge of performing a global survey of the sky
in hard X-rays searching for Supermassive Black Holes. One of the primary
objectives of EXIST is also to study with unprecedented sensitivity the most
unknown high energy sources in the Universe, like high redshift GRBs, which
will be pointed promptly by the Spacecraft by autonomous trigger based on hard
X-ray localization on board. The recent addition of a soft X-ray telescope to
the EXIST payload complement, with an effective area of ~950 cm2 in the energy
band 0.2-3 keV and extended response up to 10 keV will allow to make broadband
studies from 0.1 to 600 keV. In particular, investigations of the spectra
components and states of AGNs and monitoring of variability of sources, study
of the prompt and afterglow emission of GRBs since the early phases, which will
help to constrain the emission models and finally, help the identification of
sources in the EXIST hard X-ray survey and the characterization of the
transient events detected. SXI will also perform surveys: a scanning survey
with sky coverage of about 2pi and limiting flux of 5x10^{-14}cgs plus other
serendipitous. We give an overview of the SXI scientific performance and also
describe the status of its design emphasizing how it has been derived by the
scientific requirements.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, to be published in Proc. of SPIE, vol 7435-11,
200
- …