2022ApJ...941L...2Z

Query : 2022ApJ...941L...2Z

2022ApJ...941L...2Z - Astrophys. J., 941, L2 (2022/December-2)

First Wide Field-of-view X-Ray Observations by a Lobster-eye Focusing Telescope in Orbit.

ZHANG C., LING Z.X., SUN X.J., SUN S.L., LIU Y., LI Z.D., XUE Y.L., CHEN Y.F., DAI Y.F., JIA Z.Q., LIU H.Y., ZHANG X.F., ZHANG Y.H., ZHANG S.N., CHEN F.S., CHENG Z.W., FU W., HAN Y.X., LI H., LI J.F., LI Y., LIU P.R., MA X.H., TANG Y.J., WANG C.B., XIE R.J., YAN A.L., ZHANG Q., JIANG B.W., JIN G., LI L.H., QIU X.B., SU D.T., SUN J.N., XU Z., ZHANG S.K., ZHANG Z., ZHANG N., BI X.Z., CAI Z.M., HE J.W., LIU H.Q., ZHU X.C., CHENG H.Q., CUI C.Z., FAN D.W., HU H.B., HUANG M.H., JIN C.C., LI D.Y., PAN H.W., WANG W.X., XU Y.F., YANG X., ZHANG B., ZHANG M., ZHANG W.D., ZHAO D.H., BAI M., JI Z., LIU Y.R., MA F.L., SU J., TONG J.Z., WANG Y.S., ZHAO Z.J., FELDMAN C., O'BRIEN P., OSBORNE J.P., WILLINGALE R., BURWITZ V., HARTNER G., LANGMEIER A., MULLER T., RUKDEE S., SCHMIDT T., KUULKERS E. and YUAN W.

Abstract (from CDS):

As a novel X-ray focusing technology, lobster-eye micropore optics (MPO) feature both a wide observing field of view and true imaging capability, promising sky monitoring with significantly improved sensitivity and spatial resolution in soft X-rays. Since first proposed by Angel, the optics have been extensively studied, developed and trialed over the past decades. In this Letter, we report on the first-light results from a flight experiment of the Lobster Eye Imager for Astronomy, a pathfinder of the wide-field X-ray telescope of the Einstein Probe mission. The piggyback imager, launched in 2022 July, has a mostly unvignetted field of view of 18.°6 × 18.°6. Its spatial resolution is in the range of 4'-7' in FWHM and the focal spot effective area is 2-3 cm2, both showing only mild fluctuations across the field of view. We present images of the Galactic center region, Sco X-1, and the diffuse Cygnus Loop nebular taken in snapshot observations over 0.5-4 keV. These are truly wide-field X-ray images of celestial bodies observed, for the first time, by a focusing imaging telescope. Initial analyses of the in-flight data show excellent agreement between the observed images and the on-ground calibration and simulations. The instrument and its characterization are briefly described, as well as the flight experiment. The results provide a solid basis for the development of the present and proposed wide-field X-ray missions using lobster-eye MPO.

Abstract Copyright: © 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.

Journal keyword(s): Wide-field telescopes - X-ray astronomy - X-ray telescopes - Time domain astronomy

Simbad objects: 14

goto Full paper

goto View the references in ADS

Number of rows : 14
N Identifier Otype ICRS (J2000)
RA 		ICRS (J2000)
DEC 		Mag U Mag B Mag V Mag R Mag I Sp type #ref
1850 - 2026 		#notes
1 NAME Magellanic Clouds GrG 03 00 -71.0           ~ 7988 0
2 M 1 SNR 05 34 31.8 +22 01 03           ~ 6516 1
3 GrW 170817 GWE 13 09 48.0850 -23 22 53.343           ~ 2683 0
4 V* V818 Sco LXB 16 19 55.0692669024 -15 38 25.017666540 11.60 12.40 11.1     Oev 1730 0
5 4U 1722-30 LXB 17 27 33.25 -30 48 07.4     12.50     ~ 278 1
6 V* V2216 Oph LXB 17 31 44.17 -16 57 40.9 16.40 17.10 16.8     ~ 329 1
7 4U 1730-22 LXB 17 33 57.00 -22 02 07.0           ~ 64 0
8 NAME Galactic Center reg 17 45 39.60213 -29 00 22.0000           ~ 16269 0
9 X Sgr X-1 LXB 17 47 56.3 -26 33 47           ~ 402 0
10 X Sgr X-4 LXB 18 23 40.57 -30 21 40.6   19.06 18.81     ~ 1056 1
11 V* V4634 Sgr LXB 18 29 28.8 -23 47 48 18.90 19.40 19     ~ 399 0
12 Z 173-14 Sy1 18 35 03.3896172576 +32 41 46.855964616   16.50 15.39 10.50   ~ 688 1
13 NAME Cyg Loop SNR 20 51.0 +30 40           ~ 964 0
14 NAME Cas A SNR 23 23 26.0 +58 48 41     14.30     ~ 3033 1

To bookmark this query, right click on this link: simbad:objects in 2022ApJ...941L...2Z and select 'bookmark this link' or equivalent in the popup menu