An x-ray interferometry concept for the ESA Voyage 2050 programme

Phil Uttley; Roland den Hartog; Cosimo Bambi; Didier Barret; Stefano Bianchi; Michal Bursa; Massimo Cappi; Piergiorgio Casella; Webster Cash; Elisa Costantini; Thomas Dauser; Maria Diaz Trigo; Keith Gendreau; Victoria Grinberg; Jan-Willem den Herder; Adam Ingram; Erin Kara; Sera Markoff; Beatriz Mingo; Francesca Panessa; Katja Poppenhäger; Agata Rózanska; Jiri Svoboda; Ralph Wijers; Richard Willingale; Jörn Wilms; Michael Wise

doi:10.1117/12.2562523

13 December 2020 An x-ray interferometry concept for the ESA Voyage 2050 programme

Phil Uttley, Roland den Hartog, Cosimo Bambi, Didier Barret, Stefano Bianchi, Michal Bursa, Massimo Cappi, Piergiorgio Casella, Webster Cash, Elisa Costantini, Thomas Dauser, Maria Diaz Trigo, Keith Gendreau, Victoria Grinberg, Jan-Willem den Herder, Adam Ingram, Erin Kara, Sera Markoff, Beatriz Mingo, Francesca Panessa, Katja Poppenhäger, Agata Rózanska, Jiri Svoboda, Ralph Wijers, Richard Willingale, Jörn Wilms, Michael Wise

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 11444, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2020: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray; 114441E (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2562523
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2020, Online Only

Abstract

We have proposed the development of X-ray interferometry as part of ESA’s Voyage 2050 programme, to reveal the universe at high energies with ultra-high spatial resolution. With only a 1 m baseline, which could be accommodated on a single spacecraft, X-ray interferometry can reach 100 μas resolution at 10 Å (1.24 keV) and exceed that of the Event Horizon Telescope at 2Å (6.2 keV). A multi-spacecraft ‘constellation’ interferometer would resolve well below 1 μas. Here we focus on the single-spacecraft interferometer design and discuss the process of fringe detection and image reconstruction from multiple baselines, showing simulated images of test cases from our Voyage 2050 White Paper. We also discuss the challenges and feasibility of reaching the technical requirements needed for a single-spacecraft interferometer. Most key requirements are already feasible or within easy reach. Besides a ground-based testbed, covered elsewhere in these proceedings, the most important areas for development include large format, small-pixel X-ray detectors and pointing which is stable or can be reconstructed to tens of µas precision.

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Phil Uttley, Roland den Hartog, Cosimo Bambi, Didier Barret, Stefano Bianchi, Michal Bursa, Massimo Cappi, Piergiorgio Casella, Webster Cash, Elisa Costantini, Thomas Dauser, Maria Diaz Trigo, Keith Gendreau, Victoria Grinberg, Jan-Willem den Herder, Adam Ingram, Erin Kara, Sera Markoff, Beatriz Mingo, Francesca Panessa, Katja Poppenhäger, Agata Rózanska, Jiri Svoboda, Ralph Wijers, Richard Willingale, Jörn Wilms, and Michael Wise "An x-ray interferometry concept for the ESA Voyage 2050 programme", Proc. SPIE 11444, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2020: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 114441E (13 December 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2562523

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