X-ray optics for WHIMex: the Warm Hot Intergalactic Medium Explorer

W. Cash; R. McEntaffer; W. Zhang; S. Casement; C. Lillie; M. Schattenburg; M. Bautz; A. Holland; H. Tsunemi; S. O'Dell

doi:10.1117/12.895014

11 October 2011 X-ray optics for WHIMex: the Warm Hot Intergalactic Medium Explorer

W. Cash, R. McEntaffer, W. Zhang, S. Casement, C. Lillie, M. Schattenburg, M. Bautz, A. Holland, H. Tsunemi, S. O'Dell

Proceedings Volume 8147, Optics for EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Astronomy V; 81471J (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.895014
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2011, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The x-ray astronomy community has never flown a celestial source spectrograph that can resolve natural line widths in absorption the way the ultraviolet community did with OAO-3 Copernicus back in 1972. Yet there is important science to be mined there, and right now, the large flagship missions like the International X-ray Observatory are not progressing toward launch. WHIMEx is an Explorer concept proposed earlier this year to open up that science regime in the next few years. The concept features a modified off-plane grating spectrograph design that will support high resolution (λ/δλ ~ 4000) in the soft x-ray band with a high packing density that will enable a modest cost space mission. We discuss the design and capabilities for the WHIMEx mission. Its prime science goal is detecting high temperature oxygen in the Intergalactic Medium, but it has a broad range of science potential cutting across all of x-ray astronomy and should give us a new window on the Universe.

Citation Download Citation

W. Cash, R. McEntaffer, W. Zhang, S. Casement, C. Lillie, M. Schattenburg, M. Bautz, A. Holland, H. Tsunemi, and S. O'Dell "X-ray optics for WHIMex: the Warm Hot Intergalactic Medium Explorer", Proc. SPIE 8147, Optics for EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Astronomy V, 81471J (11 October 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.895014

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