Joint AXAF high-resolution mirror assembly and AXAF CCD Imaging Spectrometer calibration at the MSFC X-ray calibration facility

J. Nousek, L. Townsley, G. Chartas, D. Burrows, E. Moskalenko, R. Sambruna, J. Pesce, C. Grant, K. Nishikida, L. Cawley, P. Broos, T. S. Koch, A. Garmire, G. Garmire, M. Bautz

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

The flight AXAF CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) and the High-Resolution Mirror Assembly (HRMA) telescope were extensively calibrated at NASA MSFC's X-Ray Calibration Facility (XRCF). We present results based on HRMA/ACIS characteristics that were obtained with the following tests: (a) Point-Spread-Function (PSF) tests measuring the core and wings of the PSF on-axis and at several off-axis positions, at the point of ideal focus. (b) Effective-Area (EA) tests measuring the total effective collecting area over the PSF at many energies. We investigate the dependence of the effective area and energy response of ACIS/HRMA as a function of several ACIS parameters. (c) Count-rate-linearity (pile-up) tests measuring the effect of increasing the mean incident rate of photons per pixel on the PSF, the EA, source centroid, and photon detection. The goal of the calibration is to provide accurate estimates of the in-orbit performance of the ACIS/HRMA instrument and to enable translation of in-orbit measurements to absolute values of the incident x-ray flux and physical models of the source emission.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)225-233
Number of pages9
JournalProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Volume3444
StatePublished - 1998
EventProceedings of the 1998 Conference on X-Ray Optics, Instruments, and Missions - San Diego, CA, USA
Duration: Jul 19 1998Jul 22 1998

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Applied Mathematics
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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