Enhanced simulations on the Athena/Wide Field Imager instrumental background
Enhanced simulations on the Athena/Wide Field Imager instrumental background
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DOI：
10.1117/1.jatis.7.3.034001
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发表时间：
2021-07
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Tanja Eraerds;V. Antonelli;Christopher Stephen William Davis;D. Hall;O. Hetherington;A. Holland;M. Hubbard;N. Meidinger;E. Miller;S. Molendi;E. Perinati;D. Pietschner;A. Rau
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文献类型：
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作者：
Tanja Eraerds;V. Antonelli;Christopher Stephen William Davis;D. Hall;O. Hetherington;A. Holland;M. Hubbard;N. Meidinger;E. Miller;S. Molendi;E. Perinati;D. Pietschner;A. Rau
抽象的。广角成像仪（WFI）是欧洲航天局下一个大型X射线天文台-高能天体物理学高级望远镜（雅典娜）的两个焦平面仪器之一，计划于21世纪30年代初发射。目前的基线晕轨道是围绕L2，而日地系统L1的第二拉格朗日点正在考虑之中。对于这两个潜在的晕轨道，辐射环境，太阳和宇宙的质子，电子和氦离子将影响仪器的性能。对仪器背景的另一个关键贡献来自未聚焦的宇宙硬X射线背景。重要的是要理解和估计预期的仪器背景，并研究措施，如设计修改或分析方法，这可以提高预期的背景水平，以达到具有挑战性的科学要求（在2至7 keV下<5 × 10 − 3计数/cm 2/ keV / s）。通过考虑L2质子通量的新信息，对Geant 4中先前进行的WFI背景模拟进行了改进。此外，Geant 4模拟中使用的WFI仪器及其周围环境的模拟模型已经过完善，以遵循WFI相机的技术发展。
Abstract. The Wide Field Imager (WFI) is one of two focal plane instruments of the Advanced Telescope for High-Energy Astrophysics (Athena), ESA’s next large x-ray observatory, planned for launch in the early 2030s. The current baseline halo orbit is around L2, and the second Lagrangian point of the Sun-Earth system L1 is under consideration. For both potential halo orbits, the radiation environment, solar and cosmic protons, electrons, and He-ions will affect the performance of the instruments. A further critical contribution to the instrument background arises from the unfocused cosmic hard x-ray background. It is important to understand and estimate the expected instrumental background and to investigate measures, such as design modifications or analysis methods, which could improve the expected background level to achieve the challenging scientific requirement (<5 × 10 − 3 counts / cm2 / keV / s at 2 to 7 keV). Previous WFI background simulations done in Geant4 have been improved by taking into account new information about the proton flux at L2. In addition, the simulation model of the WFI instrument and its surroundings employed in Geant4 simulations has been refined to follow the technological development of the WFI camera.