Mikhail N. Pavlinsky

Optical identifications of five INTEGRAL hard X-ray sources in the Galactic plane

The results of optical identifications of five hard X-ray sources in the Galactic plane from the INTEGRAL all-sky survey are presented. The X-ray data on one source (IGR J20216+4359) are published for the first time. The optical observations were performed with the 1.5-m RTT-150 telescope (Turkish National Observatory, Antalya, Turkey) and the 6-m BTA telescope (Special Astrophysical Observatory, Nizhny Arkhyz, Russia). A blazar, three Seyfert galaxies, and a high-mass X-ray binary are among the identified sources.

The Marshall Space Flight Center development of mirror modules for the ART-XC instrument aboard the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma mission

The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is developing x-ray mirror modules for the ART-XC instrument on board the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma Mission under a Reimbursable Agreement between NASA and the Russian Space Research Institute (IKI.) ART-XC will consist of seven co-aligned x-ray mirror modules with seven corresponding CdTe focal plane detectors. Currently, four of the modules are being fabricated by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC.) Each MSFC module consist of 28 nested Ni/Co thin shells giving an effective area of 65 cm2 at 8 keV, response out to 30 keV, and an angular resolution of 45 arcsec or better HPD. Delivery of these modules to the IKI is scheduled for summer 2013. We present a status of the ART x-ray modules development at the MSFC.

Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma astrophysical mission

The Spectrum-RG (SRG) mission, to be launched in 2011, will conduct the first all-sky survey in the 0.1-15 keV band via two imaging telescope systems, eROSITA and ART-XC. These will enable the detection of about 100 thousand clusters of galaxies and the mapping of the large scale structure of the Universe. They will also discover all obscured accreting Black Holes in nearby galaxies and about ≥3 million new, distant AGNs. In the course of the survey mode two sky regions around the celestial polar zones will be observed with much higher sensitivity. Then, selected sources and dedicated sky regions will be observed in a pointing mode with high sensitivity in order to investigate the nature of dark matter and dark energy. An X-Ray Calorimeter, the SXC experiment, will permit observations of the brightest clusters of galaxies with record energy resolution in pointing mode and mapping of the hot intergalactic medium in the survey mode.

The Spektr-RG X-ray calorimeter

Spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopy with high spectral resolution allows the study of astrophysical processes in extended sources with unprecedented sensitivity. This includes the measurement of abundances, temperatures, densities, ionisation stages as well as turbulence and velocity structures in these sources. An X-ray calorimeter is planned for the Russian mission Spektr Röntgen-Gamma (SRG), to be launched in 2011. During the first half year (pointed phase) it will study the dynamics and composition of of the hot gas in massive clusters of galaxies and in supernova remnants (SNR). During the survey phase it will produce the first all sky maps of line-rich spectra of the interstellar medium (ISM). Spectral analysis will be feasible for typically every 5° x 5° region on the sky. Considering the very short time-scale for the development of this instrument it consists of a combination of well developed systems. For the optics an extra eROSITA mirror, also part of the Spektr-RG payload, will be used. The detector will be based on spare parts of the detector flown on Suzaku combined with a rebuild of the electronics and the cooler will be based on the design for the Japanese mission NeXT. In this paper we will present the science and give an overview of the instrument.

On-ground calibration of the ART-XC/SRG instrument

The Astronomical Roentgen Telescope X-ray Concentrator (ART-XC) is a medium X-ray instrument with operating energy range 4-30 keV which will be launched onboard the Spectrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG) mission. ART-XC consists of seven co-aligned mirror modules coupled with seven focal plane CdTe double-sided strip detectors. The mirror modules were fabricated and calibrated at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The Russian Space Research Institute (IKI) developed and tested the X-ray detectors. Flight mirror modules and detector units were integrated into the ART-XC instrument in 2016. For more detailed studies we have used the spare mirror module and spare detector unit. We present some results of the on-ground calibration of the ART-XC spare detector unit without a mirror system and estimation of the detector efficiency.

ART-XC / SRG overview

ART-XC is an X-ray grazing incidence mirror telescopes array onboard the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma (SRG) mission, that is currently scheduled for launch in March 2019. This instrument was developed by the Space Research Institute (IKI) and the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute for Experimental Physics (VNIIEF). The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has developed and fabricated flight X-ray mirror modules. Each mirror module is aligned with a focal plane CdTe double-sided strip detector which will operate over the energy range of 4−30 keV, with an angular resolution of <1′, a field of view of ~0.3 deg2 in double reflection and an expected energy resolution of about 9% at 14 keV. The ART-XC instrument will be used to perform an all-sky survey simultaneously with the other instrument of the SRG mission, eROSITA, operational in a softer energy range 0.3-10 keV. We present an overview of the ARTXC/SRG instrument and an update on the current status of the project.

ART-XC/SRG: joint calibration of mirror modules and x-ray detectors

The Astronomical Roentgen Telescope – X-ray Concentrator (ART-XC) is a hard x-ray instrument with energy response 6–30 keV that will to be launched on board of the Spectrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG) Mission. ART-XC consists of seven co-aligned mirror modules coupled with seven focal plane CdTe double-sided strip detectors. The mirror modules had been fabricated and calibrated at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The Russian Space Research Institute (IKI) has developed and tested the X-ray detectors. The joint x-ray calibration of the mirror modules and focal plane detectors was carried out at the IKI test facility. Details of the calibration procedure and an overview of the results are presented here.

Review of Galactic Center Observations with Granat

Seven sets of Galactic Center (hereafter GC) observations in hard X-Rays were performed by GRANAT in 1990–1993. Coded mask telescopes ART-P and SIGMA obtained high angular resolution (~ 5 ÷ 15 arcminutes) images of this region over broad energy band from 3 to 1000 keV. No evidence for presence of supermassive black hole (AGN-like) at the dynamic center of our Galaxy has been found in these observations. The contribution of central few tens of parsecs around the Galactic Center to the X-Ray luminosity of the whole GC region is very small.