High-resolution x-ray telescopes

Stephen L. O'Dell; Roger J. Brissenden; William N. Davis; Ronald F. Elsner; Martin S. Elvis; Mark D. Freeman; Terrance Gaetz; Paul Gorenstein; Mikhail V. Gubarev; Diab Jerius; Michael Juda; Jeffery J. Kolodziejczak; Stephen S. Murray; Robert Petre; William Podgorski; Brian D. Ramsey; Paul B. Reid; Timo Saha; Daniel A. Schwartz; Susan Trolier-McKinstry; Martin C. Weisskopf; Rudeger H. T. Wilke; Scott Wolk; William W. Zhang

doi:10.1117/12.862315

22 October 2010 High-resolution x-ray telescopes

Stephen L. O'Dell, Roger J. Brissenden, William N. Davis, Ronald F. Elsner, Martin S. Elvis, Mark D. Freeman, Terrance Gaetz, Paul Gorenstein, Mikhail V. Gubarev, Diab Jerius, Michael Juda, Jeffery J. Kolodziejczak, Stephen S. Murray, Robert Petre, William Podgorski, Brian D. Ramsey, Paul B. Reid, Timo Saha, Daniel A. Schwartz, Susan Trolier-McKinstry, Martin C. Weisskopf, Rudeger H. T. Wilke, Scott Wolk, William W. Zhang

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7803, Adaptive X-Ray Optics; 78030H (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.862315
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2010, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

High-energy astrophysics is a relatively young scientific field, made possible by space-borne telescopes. During the half-century history of x-ray astronomy, the sensitivity of focusing x-ray telescopes-through finer angular resolution and increased effective area-has improved by a factor of a 100 million. This technological advance has enabled numerous exciting discoveries and increasingly detailed study of the high-energy universe-including accreting (stellarmass and super-massive) black holes, accreting and isolated neutron stars, pulsar-wind nebulae, shocked plasma in supernova remnants, and hot thermal plasma in clusters of galaxies. As the largest structures in the universe, galaxy clusters constitute a unique laboratory for measuring the gravitational effects of dark matter and of dark energy. Here, we review the history of high-resolution x-ray telescopes and highlight some of the scientific results enabled by these telescopes. Next, we describe the planned next-generation x-ray-astronomy facility-the International X-ray Observatory (IXO). We conclude with an overview of a concept for the next next-generation facility-Generation X. The scientific objectives of such a mission will require very large areas (about 10000 m²) of highly-nested lightweight grazing-incidence mirrors with exceptional (about 0.1-arcsecond) angular resolution. Achieving this angular resolution with lightweight mirrors will likely require on-orbit adjustment of alignment and figure.

Citation Download Citation

Stephen L. O'Dell, Roger J. Brissenden, William N. Davis, Ronald F. Elsner, Martin S. Elvis, Mark D. Freeman, Terrance Gaetz, Paul Gorenstein, Mikhail V. Gubarev, Diab Jerius, Michael Juda, Jeffery J. Kolodziejczak, Stephen S. Murray, Robert Petre, William Podgorski, Brian D. Ramsey, Paul B. Reid, Timo Saha, Daniel A. Schwartz, Susan Trolier-McKinstry, Martin C. Weisskopf, Rudeger H. T. Wilke, Scott Wolk, and William W. Zhang "High-resolution x-ray telescopes", Proc. SPIE 7803, Adaptive X-Ray Optics, 78030H (22 October 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.862315

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available