1. First Wide Field-of-view X-Ray Observations by a Lobster-eye Focusing Telescope in Orbit
- Author
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C. Zhang, Z. X. Ling, X. J. Sun, S. L. Sun, Y. Liu, Z. D. Li, Y. L. Xue, Y. F. Chen, Y. F. Dai, Z. Q. Jia, H. Y. Liu, X. F. Zhang, Y. H. Zhang, S. N. Zhang, F. S. Chen, Z. W. Cheng, W. Fu, Y. X. Han, H. Li, J. F. Li, Y. Li, P. R. Liu, X. H. Ma, Y. J. Tang, C. B. Wang, R. J. Xie, A. L. Yan, Q. Zhang, B. W. Jiang, G. Jin, L. H. Li, X. B. Qiu, D. T. Su, J. N. Sun, Z. Xu, S. K. Zhang, Z. Zhang, N. Zhang, X. Z. Bi, Z. M. Cai, J. W. He, H. Q. Liu, X. C. Zhu, H. Q. Cheng, C. Z. Cui, D. W. Fan, H. B. Hu, M. H. Huang, C. C. Jin, D. Y. Li, H. W. Pan, W. X. Wang, Y. F. Xu, X. Yang, B. Zhang, M. Zhang, W. D. Zhang, D. H. Zhao, M. Bai, Z. Ji, Y. R. Liu, F. L. Ma, J. Su, J. Z. Tong, Y. S. Wang, Z. J. Zhao, C. Feldman, P. O’Brien, J. P. Osborne, R. Willingale, V. Burwitz, G. Hartner, A. Langmeier, T. Müller, S. Rukdee, T. Schmidt, E. Kuulkers, and W. Yuan
- Subjects
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE) ,Space and Planetary Science ,FOS: Physical sciences ,Astronomy and Astrophysics ,Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena ,Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics ,Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM) - Abstract
As a novel X-ray focusing technology, lobster eye micro-pore 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 (1979), 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 ($LEIA$), a pathfinder of the wide-field X-ray telescope of the Einstein Probe mission. The piggyback imager, launched in July 2022, has a mostly un-vignetted field of view of $18.6^\circ \times 18.6^\circ $. Its spatial resolution is in the range of 4$-$7 arcmin in FWHM and the focal spot effective area is 2$-$3 cm$^2$, both showing only mild fluctuations across the field of view. We present images of the Galactic center region, Sco X-1 and the diffuse Cygnus Loop nebular taken in snapshot observations over 0.5$-$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., Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letter
- Published
- 2022
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