ART-XC explained

ART-XC
(Astronomical Roentgen Telescope X-ray Concentrator)
Mission Type:Space observatory
Operator:, Russian Space Research Institute
Germany, German Aerospace Center
Mission Duration:≈ 7 years; until late 2026 to early 2027 (planned)
Spacecraft:Spektr-RG
Manufacturer:Russian Space Research Institute and All-Russian Scientific Research Institute for Experimental Physics
Launch Date:13 July 2019, 12:31 UTC
Launch Rocket:Proton-M
Launch Site:Baikonur 45/1
Orbit Reference:Second Lagrange point (L2)
Telescope Name:ART-XC
Telescope Type:Wolter-I
Telescope Wavelength:X-rays

The Astronomical Roentgen Telescope X-ray Concentrator (ART-XC) is an X-ray telescope with a grazing incidence mirror that is capable of capturing high energy X-ray photons within the 5-30 keV energy range. This telescope is one of the two X-ray telescopes on the Spektr-RG (SRG) mission. The other telescope that SRG carries is eROSITA. The observatory was launched on 13 July 2019 via a Proton rocket from the Russian launch site Baikonur in Kazakhstan.

Overview

ART-XC was developed by the Space Research Institute (IKI) and the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute for Experimental Physics (VNIIEF). The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has developed and fabricated flight models of the X-ray mirror systems.[1] [2] The ART-XC telescope consists of 7 identical mirror modules each made with 28 nickel-cobalt grazing-incidence mirrors. The mirror design is Wolter-I and is coated with iridium. Each module also has its own cadmium-tellurium double-sided strip detector. The typical on-axis half-power diameter of ART-XC is 27 to 34 arcsec, while the effective area of each module is 65 cm2 (both were estimated at 8 keV). The field of view for each module is about 36′ in diameter.

ART-XC will survey the entire sky every six months, and the planned all-sky survey will be completed in the first four years of the mission.[3] [4] [5]

First light

Roscosmos published the first light image of ART-XC, which was taken on July 30, 2019. The image shows the source Centaurus X-3 imaged with the 7 telescopes, as well as the light curve of the pulsar folded at its pulse period of 4.8s.[6]

Instruments

Instruments on the Spektr-RG observatory
eROSITA[7] ART-XC[8]
Organisation IKI / VNIIEF
Telescope type Wolter
Wavelength X-ray X-ray
Mass 810 kg 350 kg
Sensitivity range 6 - 30 keV
View angle 1 degree 30 arcminutes
Angular resolution 15 arcseconds 45 arcseconds
Sensor area 450 cm2/ 8 keV

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ART-XC homepage.
  2. Web site: MSFC ART-XC page.
  3. Book: Pavlinsky . M. . Levin . V. . Akimov . V. . Krivchenko . A. . Rotin . A. . Kuznetsova . M. . Lapshov . I. . Tkachenko . A. . Krivonos . R. . Semena . N. . Buntov . M. . Glushenko . A. . Arefiev . V. . Yaskovich . A. . Grebenev . S. . Sazonov . S. . Lutovinov . A. . Molkov . S. . Serbinov . D. . Kudelin . M. . Drozdova . T. . Voronkov . S. . Sunyaev . R. . Churazov . E. . Gilfanov . M. . Ramsey . B. . O'Dell . S. L. . Kolodziejczak . J. . Zavlin . V. . Swartz . D. . Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2018: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray . ART-XC / SRG overview . Shouleh . Kazuhiro . Jan-Willem A. . Nikzad . Nakazawa . Den Herder . 10699 . 106991Y . 10.1117/12.2312053 . 1 July 2018. 2018SPIE10699E..1YP . 9781510619517 . 126365842 .
  4. Krivonos . R. . Tkachenko . A. . Burenin . R. . Filippova . E. . Lapshov . I. . Mereminskiy . I. . Molkov . S. . Pavlinsky . M. . Sazonov . S. . Gubarev . M. . Kolodziejczak . J. . O'Dell . S. L. . Swartz . D. . Zavlin . Vyacheslav E. . Ramsey . B. D. . Calibration of the ART-XC mirror modules at MSFC . Experimental Astronomy . 44 . 1 . 147–164 . 10.1007/s10686-017-9555-0 . October 2017. 1708.09783 . 2017ExA....44..147K . 254501459 .
  5. Mereminskiy . I. A. . Filippova . E. V. . Burenin . R. A. . Sazonov . S. Yu. . Pavlinsky . M. N. . Tkachenko . A. Yu. . Lapshov . I. Yu. . Shtykovskiy . A. E. . Krivonos . R. A. . A Deep Extragalactic Survey with the ART-XC Telescope of the Spectrum-RG Observatory: Simulations and Expected Results . Astronomy Letters . 44 . 2 . 67–80 . 10.1134/S1063773718020044 . 1 February 2018. 2018AstL...44...67M . 255203199 .
  6. Web site: Новости. Первый свет обсерватории "Спектр-РГ". www.roscosmos.ru. 2019-08-05.
  7. http://www.mpe.mpg.de/455799/instrument eROSITA Technical Performance
  8. Web site: ART-XC ON SRG. NASA. December 11, 2022.