Performance and results of the reflection grating spectrometers onboard XMM-Newton

Jan-Willem W. den Herder; A. C. Brinkman; Steven M. Kahn; Graziella Branduardi-Raymont; M. Audard; E. Behar; A. Blustin; Antonius J. F. den Boggende; Jean Cottam; Christian Erd; Carlos Gabriel; Manuel Guedel; K. van der Heyden; Jelle S. Kaastra; A. Kinkhabwala; Maurice Andrew Leutenegger; Rolf Mewe; Frits B. S. Paerels; A. J. J. Raassen; J. R. Peterson; A. Pollock; Andrew P. Rasmussen; M. Sako; M. Santos-Lleo; K. Steenbrugge; T. Tamura; Cor P. de Vries

doi:10.1117/12.461150

11 March 2003 Performance and results of the reflection grating spectrometers onboard XMM-Newton

Jan-Willem W. den Herder, A. C. Brinkman, Steven M. Kahn, Graziella Branduardi-Raymont, M. Audard, E. Behar, A. Blustin, Antonius J. F. den Boggende, Jean Cottam, Christian Erd, Carlos Gabriel, Manuel Guedel, K. van der Heyden, Jelle S. Kaastra, A. Kinkhabwala, Maurice Andrew Leutenegger, Rolf Mewe, Frits B. S. Paerels, A. J. J. Raassen, J. R. Peterson, A. Pollock, Andrew P. Rasmussen, M. Sako, M. Santos-Lleo, K. Steenbrugge, T. Tamura, Cor P. de Vries

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 4851, X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Telescopes and Instruments for Astronomy; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.461150
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2002, Waikoloa, Hawai'i, United States

Abstract

XMM-Newton was launched in December 1999 and science operations started in March 2000. Following two years of very successful operations, a report on the instrument performance and a selection of exciting new results are presented. Behind two of the three telescopes of XMM-Newton Reflection Grating Spectrometers (RGS) are placed. Each spectrometer consists of an array of reflection gratings and a set of back illuminated CCDs. They cover the wavelength band between 6 and 38 Angstromwith a resolution varying between 100 and 600 (E/DE) and a maximum effective area of 140 cm² for the two spectrometers combined. The selected wavelength band covers the K-shell transitions of C, N, O, Ne, Mg and Si as well as the L- and M-shell transitions of Fe. After a short introduction to the instrument design, the in-orbit performance is given. This includes the line spread function, the wavelength scale and the effective area including their stability during the more than 2 years of operations. Following this a number of key scientific results are briefly addressed, illustrating the power of the RGS instrument in combination with the other instruments on-board of XMM-Newton as well as the wealth of information which is obtained as the RGS instruments operate continuously.

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Jan-Willem W. den Herder, A. C. Brinkman, Steven M. Kahn, Graziella Branduardi-Raymont, M. Audard, E. Behar, A. Blustin, Antonius J. F. den Boggende, Jean Cottam, Christian Erd, Carlos Gabriel, Manuel Guedel, K. van der Heyden, Jelle S. Kaastra, A. Kinkhabwala, Maurice Andrew Leutenegger, Rolf Mewe, Frits B. S. Paerels, A. J. J. Raassen, J. R. Peterson, A. Pollock, Andrew P. Rasmussen, M. Sako, M. Santos-Lleo, K. Steenbrugge, T. Tamura, and Cor P. de Vries "Performance and results of the reflection grating spectrometers onboard XMM-Newton", Proc. SPIE 4851, X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Telescopes and Instruments for Astronomy, (11 March 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.461150

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