Outline: Scientific motivation for MaGIXS (Marshall Grazing Incidence X-ray Spectrometer) - Demonstrate sensitivity of MaGIXS to determine high temperature plasma; Instrument design - Challenges involved; Instrument status - alignment and calibration

Athiray, P. S.

Champey, Patrick

Cheimets, Peter

Golub, Leon

Hertz, Edward

Kobayashi, Ken

Savage, Sabrina

Vigil, Gen

Winebarger, Amy

NASA Technical Reports Server

Marshall Grazing Incidence  X-ray 
Spectrometer  (MaGIXS)
P. S. Athiray1, Patrick Champey1, Amy Winebarger1, Ken 
Kobayashi1, Sabrina Savage1, Gen Vigil1, Peter Cheimets2, 
Edward Hertz2, Leon Golub2
1. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)
2. Smithsonian Astronomical Observatory (SAO)
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20190025419 2019-08-31T12:01:59+00:00Z
Marshall Grazing Incidence X-ray 
Spectrometer (MaGIXS) 
• MaGIXS is a sounding rocket experiment to observe the Sun in Soft 
X-rays
• Launch - Spring 2020 
Scientific objective : Constrain the timescales of heating in quiescent active region 
structures using high temperature spectral lines
Outline
• Scientific motivation for MaGIXS
• Demonstrate sensitivity of MaGIXS to determine high temperature plasma
• Instrument design 
• Challenges involved
• Instrument status – alignment and calibration
MaGIXS – Scientific motivation
High-frequency heating
• No high temperature plasma
• Consistent with wave dissipation
• Steady Fe XVII emission and weak Fe XVIII 
and Fe XIX
Low-frequency heating
Observational Discriminators
Narrow DEM Broad DEM
• High temperature plasma > 7MK
• Consistent with Reconnection mechanism
• Strong Fe XVII emission and steady Fe XVIII 
and Fe XIX emission
Klimchuk 2017
MaGIXS – Scientific motivation
High-frequency heating
• No high temperature plasma
• Consistent with wave dissipation
• Steady Fe XVII emission and weak Fe XVIII 
and Fe XIX
Low-frequency heating
Observational Discriminators
Narrow DEM Broad DEM
• High temperature plasma > 7MK
• Consistent with Reconnection mechanism
• Strong Fe XVII emission and steady Fe XVIII 
and Fe XIX emission
Klimchuk 2017
High temperature, Low emission measure plasma 
• Amount of plasma at temperatures >5MK is not accurately known
• Current space instrumentation has a “blind-spot” for high 
temperature emission
Winebarger et al. 2012; 
High temperature, Low emission measure plasma 
• Amount of plasma at temperatures >5MK is not accurately known
• Current space instrumentation has a “blind-spot” for high 
temperature emission
Winebarger et al. 2012; Ishikawa et al. 2017; Athiray et al. (to be submitted)
High temperature, Low emission measure plasma 
• Amount of plasma at temperatures >5MK is not accurately known
• Current space instrumentation has a “blind-spot” for high 
temperature emission
MaGIXS is complementary to FOXSI
MaGIXS bridges gap between XRT - FOXSI
Winebarger et al. 2012; Ishikawa et al. 2017; Athiray et al. (to be submitted)
High temperature, Low emission measure plasma 
• High temperature spectral lines are chiefly observed in Soft X-rays (0.5 to 2 keV)
• The spectral lines are closely spaced and require high resolution X-ray spectrometer
• MaGIXS will observe in this wavelength including important Fe XVII, XVIII and XIX lines, which 
are diagnostic for high temperature plasma with same optical path
Fe ion Wavelength (A)
Log Max 
temperature
FeXVII 15.01 6.6
FeXVIII 14.21 6.8
FeXIX 13.53 6.95
Ne IX 13.45 6.6
O VII 21.60 6.3
MaGIXS key spectral lines
Sensitivity of MaGIXS for high temperature plasma
• Assumed series of EM distributions 
with range of ! and β
• Predict MaGIXS spectra for different 
EM distributions
• Investigate MaGIXS line intensity as 
a function of EM slopes
Can we determine high temperature Emission Measure (EM) slope using MaGIXS line 
intensity ratio?
Athiray et al  (to be submitted)
• Selected MaGIXS line intensity is sensitive to β and less sensitive to !
• Ratio between two line intensity from MaGIXS can be used as a proxy to determine β 
• The uncertainty in β will be more tightly constrained than has been in previous studies
Athiray et al  (to be submitted)
Sensitivity of MaGIXS for high temperature plasma
MaGIXS sounding rocket experiment
• MaGIXS - Science and Instrument requirements
• Energy range – 6 to 24Å (0.5 to 2 KeV)
• Target – Medium sized active region
• Spatial resolution < 5” (coherent structure in AR)
• Spectral resolution < 0.1Å
• Relative uncertainty in the MaGIXS response function to contribute < 
10% to the uncertainty of β
GOAL : Constrain the timescales of heating in quiescent active region structures 
using high temperature spectral lines
Outline
ü Scientific motivation for MaGIXS
üDemonstrate sensitivity of MaGIXS to determine high temperature plasma
• Instrument design 
• Challenges involved
• Instrument status – alignment and calibration
Telescope
• Wolter I type
• Electroformed Nickel 
• Focal length = 1090 mm 
• Diameter = 150 mm
• Graze angle = 1.0o
MaGIXS Optics design
Grating and Camera
• Planar varied-line-space grating
• CCD detector: flight heritage system (CLASP, Hi-C)
Spectrometer system
• Electroformed Nickel finite conjugate mirror pair
• Focal length = 594 mm
MaGIXS Instrument design (MSFC, SAO)
Optical path 
dimensions
z
y
☉x
MaGIXS will also carry a slit-jaw imaging camera to get context image of the Sun during MaGIXS observation
Challenges Associated with the Optics
• Short focal length requires steep curvatures - more challenging to polish
• Resolution is ~5 times less than nickel-replicated optics produced in the past
• Resolution balanced between 5 successive reflections - summed in quadrature
• Co-alignment of single shells in series
• MSFC has a mature process for coaxial alignment of nested shells
• SAO and MSFC co-developed method for aligning shells in series
CNC Deterministic polishing
Champey et al., private communication
conventional polishing
CNC polishing
MaGIXS Mirror Performances
● Performed X-ray tests on shells replicated from CNC polished 
mandrels at the Stray light facility. 
○ On-axis PSF
○ Through focus PSF
○ De-focus annulus for shell irregularities, scattering
● Working toward establishing an image analysis technique to 
quantify the improvements achieved through deterministic polishing 
(Champey et al. in preparation)
Outline
ü Scientific motivation for MaGIXS
üDemonstrate sensitivity of MaGIXS to determine high temperature plasma
ü Instrument design 
ü Challenges involved
• Instrument status – alignment and calibration
Instrument status 
• Internal alignment of Telescope Mirror Assembly - completed by SAO 
• Internal alignment of Spectrometer Optics Assembly – completed at SAO 
• Instrument assembly and co-alignment started at MSFC 
• Final alignment and calibration in X-ray at the X-ray Cryogenic Facility (XRCF)
Reference mirrors
Calibration requirements
1. We require relative uncertainty in MaGIXS response function to contribute < 10% to 
the uncertainty of β
2. Calibration will take place at MSFC using XRCF facility
Summary
• MaGIXS lines are sensitive to β
• Ratio between two MaGIXS line intensity can be used as a proxy for β, 
which is the “smoking gun” to constrain frequency of heating in ARs
• Technological challenges in MaGIXS is profound and are far-reaching
• CNC polished optics
• Alignment and calibration
• Instrument alignment and calibration are in progress for launch in Spring 
2020.
Thank you


Marshall Grazing Incidence X-Ray Spectrometer (MaGIXS)

Marshall Grazing Incidence X-Ray Spectrometer (MaGIXS)

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

NASA Technical Reports Server