T. B. Kotoch

Instruments of RT-2 experiment onboard CORONAS-PHOTON and their test and evaluation III: Coded Aperture Mask and Fresnel Zone Plates in RT-2/CZT payload

Imaging in hard X-rays of any astrophysical source with high angular resolution is a challenging job. Shadow-casting technique is one of the most viable options for imaging in hard X-rays. We have used two different types of shadow-casters, namely, Coded Aperture Mask (CAM) and Fresnel Zone Plate (FZP) pair and two types of pixellated solid-state detectors, namely, CZT and CMOS in RT-2/CZT payload, the hard X-ray imaging instrument onboard the CORONAS-PHOTON satellite. In this paper, we present the results of simulations with different combinations of coders (CAM & FZP) and detectors that are employed in the RT-2/CZT payload. We discuss the possibility of detecting transient Solar flares with good angular resolution for various combinations. Simulated results are compared with laboratory experiments to verify the consistency of the designed configuration.

Instruments of RT-2 experiment onboard CORONAS-PHOTON and their test and evaluation IV: background simulations using GEANT-4 toolkit

Hard X-ray detectors in space are prone to background signals due to the ubiquitous cosmic rays and cosmic diffuse background radiation that continuously bombards the satellites which carry the detectors. In general, the background intensity depends on the space environment as well as the material surrounding the detectors. Understanding the behavior of the background noise in the detector is very important to extract the precise source information from the detector data. In this paper, we carry out Monte Carlo simulations using the GEANT-4 toolkit to estimate the prompt background noise measured with the detectors of the RT-2 Experiment onboard the CORONAS-PHOTON satellite.

RT-2 DETECTION OF QUASI-PERIODIC PULSATIONS IN THE 2009 JULY 5 SOLAR HARD X-RAY FLARE

We present the results of an analysis of hard X-ray observations of the C2.7 solar flare detected by the RT-2 experiment on board the Coronas-Photon satellite. We detect hard X-ray pulsations at periods of {approx}12 s and {approx}15 s. We find a marginal evidence for a decrease in period with time. We have augmented these results using the publicly available data from the RHESSI satellite. We present a spectral analysis and measure the spectral parameters.

Instruments of RT-2 experiment onboard CORONAS–PHOTON and their test and evaluation V: onboard software, data structure, telemetry and telecommand

The onboard software and data communication in the RT-2 Experiment onboard the Coronas–Photon satellite is organized in a hierarchical way to effectively handle and communicate asynchronous data generated by the X-ray detectors. A flexible data handling system is organized in the X-ray detector packages themselves and the processing electronic device, namely RT-2/E, has the necessary intelligence to communicate with the three scientific payloads by issuing commands and receiving data. It has direct interfacing with the Satellite systems and issues commands to the detectors and processes the detector data before sending to the satellite systems. The onboard software is configured with several novel features like (a) device independent communication scheme, (b) loss-less data compression and (c) Digital Signal Processor. Functionality of the onboard software along with the data structure, command structure, complex processing scheme etc. are discussed in this paper.

Instruments of RT-2 Experiment onboard CORONAS-PHOTON and their test and evaluation I: Ground calibration of RT-2/S and RT-2/G

Phoswich detectors (RT-2/S & RT-2/G) are major scientific payloads of the RT-2 Experiment onboard the CORONAS-PHOTON mission, which was launched into a polar Low Earth Orbit of around 550 km on 2009 January 30. These RT-2 instruments are designed and developed to observe solar flares in hard X-rays and to understand the energy transport processes associated with these flares. Apart from this, these instruments are capable of observing Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) and Cosmic diffuse X-ray background (CDXRB). Both detectors consist of identical NaI(Tl) and CsI(Na) scintillation crystals in a Phoswich combination, having the same diameter (116 mm) but different thicknesses. The normal working energy range is from 15 keV to 150 keV, but may be extendable up to ~1 MeV. In this paper, we present the RT-2/S and RT-2/G instruments and discuss their testing and calibration results. We used different radio-active sources to calibrate both detectors. The radio-active source 57Co (122 keV) is used for onboard calibration of both instruments. During its lifetime (∼3–5 years), RT-2 is expected to cover the peak of the 24th solar cycle.

Onboard performance of the RT-2 detectors

The RT-2 Experiment onboard the CORONAS-PHOTON satellite is designed to study the spectral, temporal, and spatial details of solar hard X-ray flares in the 15–150 keV range. Above this energy (and upto 1000 keV), it also acts as an omni-directional gamma-ray detector with a capability to study gamma-ray bursts (GRB), bright solar flares, and X-ray pulsars. With an ensemble of hard X-ray detectors with different fields of view and coding devices, it also has the capability to investigate the spectrum of Cosmic Diffuse X-ray Background. The performance of the detectors from 2009 February to November is described in this paper. Results obtained on a few GRBs and solar flares are also briefly discussed.

Simultaneous observation of Solar Events by Indian Payload (RT‐2) and ICSP‐VLF receiver

We present the results of analysis of simultaneous observation of several Solar Flares (SF) by RT‐2 Experiment onboard CORONAS‐PHOTON satellite and ICSP‐VLF receivers. The ionospheric response of the solar flare is clearly detected in the VLF signals. The hard X‐ray event shows several pulsations especially in the 5th July, 2009 event, whereas in the VLF signal, we did not detect any such kind of pulsations. Such results are very useful in modeling the ionosphere, especially to understand the atmospheric chemistry.

Gamma‐Ray Bursts from RT‐2 payloads and VLF signals

RT‐2 payloads in Russian Satellite CORONAS‐PHOTON observed several Gamma Ray Bursts (GCN 9665, GCN 9833, GCN 10009 and GCN 10010). We show these results. We have compared simultaneous VLF data from many worldwide VLF receiving stations. However, we do not see sufficient signal disturbances. We discuss the implications of these observations.