Analysis methods to localize and characterize X-ray sources with the Micro-channel X-ray Telescope on board the SVOM satellite [HEAP]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2209.13330


SVOM is a Sino-French space mission targeting high-energy transient astrophysical objects such as gamma-ray bursts. The soft X-ray part of the spectrum is covered by the Micro-channel X-ray Telescope (MXT) which is a narrow field telescope designed to precisely localize X-ray sources. This paper presents the method implemented on-board to characterize and localize X-ray sources with the MXT. A specific localization method was developed to accommodate the optical system of the MXT, which is based on “Lobster-Eye” grazing incidence micro-pore optics. For the first time, the algorithm takes advantage of cross-correlation techniques to achieve a localization accuracy down to 2 arcmin with less than 200 photons, which guarantees a rapid follow-up for most of the gamma-ray bursts that SVOM will observe. In this paper, we also study the limitations of the algorithm and characterize its performance.

Read this paper on arXiv…

S. Hussein, F. Robinet, M. Boutelier, et. al.
Wed, 28 Sep 22
41/89

Comments: Submitted to The Astrophysical Journal