Arcus: the x-ray grating spectrometer explorer (Conference Presentation)

Andrew F. Ptak; Randall Smith; Meghan Abraham; Marshall Bautz; Jay Bookbinder; Joel Bregman; Laura Brenneman; Nancy Brickhouse; David Burrows; Vadim Burwitz; Peter Cheimets; Elisa Costantini; Simon Dawson; Casey DeRoo; Abe Falcone; Adam Foster; Luigi Gallo; Catherine Grant; Hans Guenther; Ralf Heilmann; Ed Hertz; Butler Hine III; David Huenemoerder; Jelle Kaastra; Ingo Kreykenbohm; Kristin K. Madsen; Randall McEntaffer; Eric Miller; Jon Miller; Elisabeth Morse; Richard Mushotzky; Kirpal Nandra; Michael Nowak; Fritz Paerels; Robert Petre; Katja Poppenhaeger; Paul Reid; Jeremy S. Sanders; Mark Schattenburg; Norbert Schulz; Alan Smale; Pasquale Temi; Lynne Valencic; Stephen Walker; Richard Willingale; Joern Wilms; Scott Wolk

doi:10.1117/12.2313965

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10 July 2018 Arcus: the x-ray grating spectrometer explorer (Conference Presentation)

Andrew F. Ptak; Randall Smith; Meghan Abraham; Marshall Bautz; Jay Bookbinder; Joel Bregman; Laura Brenneman; Nancy Brickhouse; David Burrows; Vadim Burwitz; Peter Cheimets; Elisa Costantini; Simon Dawson; Casey DeRoo; Abe Falcone; Adam Foster; Luigi Gallo; Catherine Grant; Hans Guenther; Ralf Heilmann; Ed Hertz; Butler Hine III; David Huenemoerder; Jelle Kaastra; Ingo Kreykenbohm; Kristin K. Madsen; Randall McEntaffer; Eric Miller; Jon Miller; Elisabeth Morse; Richard Mushotzky; Kirpal Nandra; Michael Nowak; Fritz Paerels; Robert Petre; Katja Poppenhaeger; Paul Reid; Jeremy S. Sanders; Mark Schattenburg; Norbert Schulz; Alan Smale; Pasquale Temi; Lynne Valencic; Stephen Walker; Richard Willingale; Joern Wilms; Scott Wolk

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Proceedings Volume 10699, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2018: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray; 1069926 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313965
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2018, Austin, Texas, United States

Abstract

Arcus, a Medium Explorer (MIDEX) mission, was selected by NASA for a Phase A study in August 2017. The observatory provides high-resolution soft X-ray spectroscopy in the 12-50 Å bandpass with unprecedented sensitivity: effective areas of >350 cm^2 and spectral resolution >2500 at the energies of O VII and O VIII for z=0-0.3. The Arcus key science goals are (1) to measure the effects of structure formation imprinted upon the hot baryons that are predicted to lie in extended halos around galaxies, groups, and clusters, (2) to trace the propagation of outflowing mass, energy, and momentum from the vicinity of the black hole to extragalactic scales as a measure of their feedback and (3) to explore how stars, circumstellar disks and exoplanet atmospheres form and evolve. Arcus relies upon the same 12m focal length grazing-incidence silicon pore X-ray optics (SPO) that ESA has developed for the Athena mission; the focal length is achieved on orbit via an extendable optical bench. The focused X-rays from these optics are diffracted by high-efficiency Critical-Angle Transmission (CAT) gratings, and the results are imaged with flight-proven CCD detectors and electronics. The power and telemetry requirements on the spacecraft are modest. Arcus will be launched into an ~ 7 day 4:1 lunar resonance orbit, resulting in high observing efficiency, low particle background and a favorable thermal environment. Mission operations are straightforward, as most observations will be long (~100 ksec), uninterrupted, and pre-planned. The baseline science mission will be completed in <2 years, although the margin on all consumables allows for 5+ years of operation.

Conference Presentation

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Andrew F. Ptak, Randall Smith, Meghan Abraham, Marshall Bautz, Jay Bookbinder, Joel Bregman, Laura Brenneman, Nancy Brickhouse, David Burrows, Vadim Burwitz, Peter Cheimets, Elisa Costantini, Simon Dawson, Casey DeRoo, Abe Falcone, Adam Foster, Luigi Gallo, Catherine Grant, Hans Guenther, Ralf Heilmann, Ed Hertz, Butler Hine III, David Huenemoerder, Jelle Kaastra, Ingo Kreykenbohm, Kristin K. Madsen, Randall McEntaffer, Eric Miller, Jon Miller, Elisabeth Morse, Richard Mushotzky, Kirpal Nandra, Michael Nowak, Fritz Paerels, Robert Petre, Katja Poppenhaeger, Paul Reid, Jeremy S. Sanders, Mark Schattenburg, Norbert Schulz, Alan Smale, Pasquale Temi, Lynne Valencic, Stephen Walker, Richard Willingale, Joern Wilms, and Scott Wolk "Arcus: the x-ray grating spectrometer explorer (Conference Presentation)", Proc. SPIE 10699, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2018: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 1069926 (10 July 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313965

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