Related papers: Measurement of X-ray Photon Energy and Arrival Tim…
A readout electronic with high time and energy resolution performance is designed for the SDD (Silicon Drift Detector) signals readout, which is aimed for X-ray pulsar based navigation (XNAV). For time measurement, the input signal is fed…
Usually, positions of spacecraft on interplanetary or deep space missions are determined by radar tracking from ground stations, a method by which uncertainty increases with distance from Earth. As an alternative, a spacecraft equipped with…
We present a novel, highly versatile, and self-referenced arrival time monitor for measuring the femtosecond time delay between a hard X-ray pulse from a free-electron laser and an optical laser pulse, measured directly on the same sample…
Pulsars are natural cosmic clocks. On long timescales they rival the precision of terrestrial atomic clocks. Using a technique called pulsar timing, the exact measurement of pulse arrival times allows a number of applications, ranging from…
We discuss the possibility of an autonomous navigation system for spacecraft that is based on pulsar timing data. Pulsars are rapidly rotating neutron stars that are observable as variable celestial sources of electromagnetic radiation.…
Superconducting transition-edge sensors (TESs) carried by X-ray telescopes are powerful tools for the study of neutron stars and black holes. Several methods, such as optimal filtering or principal component analysis, have already been…
This paper treats the problem of detecting periodicity in a sequence of photon arrival times, which occurs, for example, in attempting to detect gamma-ray pulsars. A particular focus is on how auxiliary information, typically source…
The spectrum of laser-plasma generated X-rays is very important, it characterizes electron dynamics in plasma and is basic for applications. However, the accuracies and efficiencies of existing methods to diagnose the spectrum of…
Synchrotron radiation facilities provide highly polarized X-ray beams across a wide energy range. However, the exact type and degree of polarization varies according to the beamline and experimental setup. To accurately determine the angle…
The Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation Technology (SEXTANT) is a technology demonstration enhancement to the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) mission, which is scheduled to launch in 2017 and will be hosted…
Superconducting resonators have to date been used for photon detection in a non-equilibrium manner. In this paper, we demonstrate that such devices can also be used in a thermal quasi-equilibrium manner to detect X-ray photons. We have used…
A new method of matrix template matching is presented in the context of pulsar timing analysis. Pulse arrival times are typically measured using only the observed total intensity light curve. The new technique exploits the additional timing…
Current space missions primarily depend on Earth-based Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) systems involving human-in-the-loop operations. X-ray pulsar-based navigation offers a promising alternative by using the very precise periodic…
An external reference system suitable for deep space navigation can be defined by fast spinning and strongly magnetized neutron stars, called pulsars. Their beamed periodic signals have timing stabilities comparable to atomic clocks and…
We present a method to measure the kinetic energy of electrons emitted upon ion impact via their time-of-flight. Pulsed beams of H$^{+}$, D$_2^{+}$, He$^{+}$ and Ne$^{+}$ ions with velocities between 0.4 and 3.5 a.u. are transmitted through…
At present, there is a great worldwide interest in the development of technologies that allow information about the X-ray emission from pulsating cosmic sources to be used to obtain navigation solutions for deep-space spacecraft. In this…
Correlations between the arrival time and the energy of photons emitted in outbursts of astrophysical objects are predicted in quantum and classical gravity scenarios and can appear as well as a result of complex acceleration mechanisms…
Transition edge sensor microcalorimeters can measure x-ray and gamma-ray energies with very high energy resolution and high photon-collection efficiency. For this technology to reach its full potential in future x-ray observatories, each…
The high time resolution observations of the X-ray sky hold the key to a number of diagnostics of fundamental physics, some of which are unaccessible to other types of investigations, such as those based on imaging and spectroscopy.…
A general approach to the problem of positioning by means of pulsars or other pulsating sources located at infinity is described. The counting of the pulses for a set of different sources whose positions in the sky and periods are assumed…