Related papers: Technologies for advanced X-ray mirror fabrication
X-ray polarimetry is now providing a new way to look at the high energy sky. The addition of two observables, polarization fraction and angle, reveals crucial new information on the structure of accretion flows and magnetic fields in…
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is a forthcoming international ground-based observatory for very high-energy gamma rays. Its goal is to reach sensitivity five to ten times better than existing Cherenkov telescopes such as VERITAS,…
This chapter describes the history, principles, and recent developments of large field of view X-ray optics based on lobster eye designs. Most of grazing incidence (reflective) X-ray imaging systems used in astronomy and other applications,…
The reflection spectrum produced by a cold medium illuminated by X-ray photons is not isotropic and its shape depends on the emission angle. In the reflection spectrum of an accretion disk of a black hole, the value of the emission angle…
Using spherical mirrors in place of wide-angle cameras allows for cost-effective monitoring of manufacturing processes in hazardous environment, where a camera would normally not operate. This includes environments of high heat, vacuum and…
Next generation radio telescopes will be much larger, more sensitive, have much larger observation bandwidth and will be capable of pointing multiple beams simultaneously. Obtaining the sensitivity, resolution and dynamic range supported by…
A solution to the inversion problem of scattering would offer aberration-free diffraction-limited 3D images without the resolution and depth-of-field limitations of lens-based tomographic systems. Powerful algorithms are increasingly being…
A breakthrough in the sensitivity level of the hard X-/gamma-ray telescopes, which today are based on detectors that view the sky through (or not) coded masks, is expected when focusing optics will be available also in this energy range.…
Prototype optical microscopes, built to pursue developments in advanced imaging techniques, need specific optomechanical constructions: preferably with high flexibility in the elements arrangement, easy access to the optical paths,…
To obtain the best possible scientific result, astronomers must understand the properties of the available instrumentation well. This is important both when designing new instruments and when using existing instruments close to the limits…
This white paper is motivated by open questions in star formation, which can be uniquely addressed by high resolution X-ray imaging and require an X-ray observatory with large collecting area along good spectral resolution. A complete…
The energy range of hard X-rays is a key waveband to the study of high energy processes in celestial objects, but still remains poorly explored. In contrast to direct imaging methods used in the low energy X-ray and high energy gamma-ray…
This article presents a new and individual way to generate opto-mechanical components by Additive Manufacturing, embedded in an established process chain for the fabrication of metal optics. The freedom of design offered by additive…
The surface of a spinning liquid takes the shape of a paraboloid that can be used as a reflecting mirror. This very old and nearly forgotten concept has recently been revived and I review its present status. Extensive interferometric tests…
We discuss a new technology that promises large inexpensive mirrors. We argue that it should be possible to tilt a rotating viscous liquid by perhaps as much as a few tens of degrees. The tilted liquid parabolic surface is used as the…
Polarimetry is widely considered a powerful observational technique in X-ray astronomy, useful to enhance our understanding of the emission mechanisms, geometry and magnetic field arrangement of many compact objects. However, the lack of…
In this work, we measure and model tilted x-ray refractive lenses to investigate their effects on an x-ray beam. The modelling is benchmarked against at-wavelength metrology obtained with x-ray speckle vector tracking experiments (XSVT) at…
In this chapter we present a brief summary of methods, instruments and calibration techniques used in modern astronomical polarimetry in the optical wavelengths. We describe the properties of various polarization devices and detectors used…
X-ray observations of galaxies have grown from a curiosity into a full-fledged field of astronomy. These observations provide unique information on black holes, binary stars, and the hot phase of the ISM, which can be used to constrain the…
To meet the scientific goals of the Thirty Meter Telescope Project, full diffraction-limited performance is required from the outset and hence the entire observatory is being designed, as a system, to achieve this. The preliminary design…