Handbook of X-ray Astronomy

208 Pages·04.28 MB·English

by  Keith Arnaud, Randall Smith, Aneta Siemiginowska

HandbookofX-rayAstronomy
ModernX-raydata,availablethroughonlinearchives,areimportantfor
manyastronomicaltopics.However,usingthesedatarequiresspecialized
techniquesandsoftware.Writtenforgraduatestudents,professional
astronomers,andresearcherswhowanttostartworkinginthisfield,this
bookisapracticalguidetoX-rayastronomy.
ThehandbookbeginswithX-rayoptics,basicdetectorphysics,and
charge-coupleddevices,beforefocusingondataanalysis.Itintroducesthe
reductionandcalibrationofX-raydata,scientificanalysis,archives,statistical
issues,andtheparticularproblemsofhighlyextendedsources.Thebook
describesthemainhardwareusedinX-rayastronomy,emphasizingthe
implicationsfordataanalysis.TheconceptsbehindcommonX-rayastronomy
dataanalysissoftwareareexplained.Theappendicespresentreference
materialoftenrequiredduringdataanalysis.
keith arnaud isattheCenterforResearchExcellenceinSpaceScience
andTechnology,NASAGoddardSpaceFlightCenter,andisanAssociate
ResearchScientistintheAstronomyDepartment,UniversityofMaryland.A
veteranofX-rayastronomy,heisrecognizedworldwideasanexpertondata
analysistechniques.
randall smith isanastrophysicistintheHighEnergyAstrophysics
DivisionoftheSmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory.Heisinternationally
knownforhisworkonspectralemissionfromastrophysicalplasmasandthe
underlyingissuesofatomicphysics.
aneta siemiginowska isanastrophysicistintheHighEnergy
AstrophysicsDivisionoftheSmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory.Shehas
workedinboththeoreticalandobservationalaspectsofX-rayastronomywith
interestsinextragalacticradiosources,quasars,powerfuljets,andstatistical
methods.
CambridgeObservingHandbooksforResearchAstronomy
Today’sprofessionalastronomersmustbeabletoadapttousetelescopesand
interpretdataatallwavelengths.Thisseriesisdesignedtoprovidethemwith
acollectionofconcise,self-containedhandbooks,whichcoversthebasicprin-
ciplespeculiartoobservinginaparticularspectraregion,ortousingaspecial
techniqueortypeofinstrument.Thebookscanbeusedasanintroductionto
thesubjectandhasahandyreferenceforuseatthetelescope,orintheoffice.
Serieseditors
Professor Richard Ellis, Department of Astronomy, California Institute of
Technology
ProfessorSteveKahn,DepartmentofPhysics,StanfordUniversity
ProfessorGeorgeRieke,StewardObservatory,UniversityofArizona,Tucson
DrPeterB.Stetson,HerzbergInstituteofAstrophysics,DominionAstrophysi-
calObservatory,Victoria,BritishColumbia
Bookscurrentlyavailableinthisseries:
1. HandbookofInfraredAstronomy
I.S.Glass
3. PracticalStatisticsforAstronomers
J.V.Wall,C.R.Jenkins
4. HandbookofPulsarAstronomy
D.R.Lorimer,M.Kramer
5. HandbookofCCDAstronomy,SecondEdition
SteveB.Howell
6. IntroductiontoAstronomicalPhotometry,SecondEdition
EdwinBudding,OsmanDemircan
7. HandbookofX-rayAstronomy
EditedbyKeithArnaud,RandallSmith,andAnetaSiemiginowska
Handbook of X-ray Astronomy
Editedby
KEITH A. ARNAUD,1,2 RANDALL K. SMITH,3 AND
ANETA SIEMIGINOWSKA3
1.CRESST,NASAGoddardSpaceFlightCenter
2.AstronomyDepartment,UniversityofMaryland
3.SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory
cambridge university press
Cambridge,NewYork,Melbourne,Madrid,CapeTown,
Singapore,Sa˜oPaulo,Delhi,Tokyo,MexicoCity
CambridgeUniversityPress
TheEdinburghBuilding,CambridgeCB28RU,UK
PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress,NewYork
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Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9780521883733
(cid:1)C CambridgeUniversityPress2011
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2011
PrintedintheUnitedKingdomattheUniversityPress,Cambridge
AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationdata
HandbookofX-rayastronomy/editedbyKeithA.Arnaud,
RandallK.Smith,AnetaSiemiginowska.
p. cm.–(Cambridgeobservinghandbooksforresearchastronomers)
Includesindex.
ISBN978-0-521-88373-3(hardback)
1.X-rayastronomy. I.Arnaud,KeithA.,1959– II.Smith,RandallK.
(RandallKnowles),1969– III.Siemiginowska,Aneta.
IV.Title. V.Series.
QB472.H36 2011
5220.6863–dc23 2011023034
ISBN978-0-521-88373-3Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceor
accuracyofURLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtoin
thispublication,anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,
orwillremain,accurateorappropriate.
Contents
Listofcontributors pageviii
Introduction 1
1 Optics 6
Schwartz
1.1 Introduction 6
1.2 X-rayreflection 7
1.3 X-raymirrors 10
1.4 Diffractiongratings 18
1.5 ThefutureofX-rayoptics 21
2 Detectors 23
Edgar
2.1 X-raydetectors 23
2.2 Proportionalcounters 24
2.3 Gasscintillationproportionalcounters 33
2.4 Scintillators 34
2.5 Microchannelplates 35
2.6 CZTdetectors 37
2.7 Microcalorimeters 37
3 Charge-coupleddevices 39
Grant
3.1 Introduction 39
3.2 Basicprinciplesandoperation 40
3.3 Performance 48
3.4 Detectorfeatures 53
3.5 FutureX-rayimagingdetectors 58
v
vi Contents
4 Datareductionandcalibration 59
ArnaudandSmith
4.1 Theeventfile 59
4.2 Lookingatthedata 66
4.3 Selectingeventsofinterest 68
4.4 Extractinganalysisproducts 75
4.5 Calibration 78
5 Dataanalysis 86
Smith,Arnaud,andSiemiginowska
5.1 Introduction 86
5.2 Low-resolutionspectralanalysis 86
5.3 High-resolutionspectralanalysis 99
5.4 Imaginganalysis 105
5.5 Timinganalysis 108
6 Archives,surveys,catalogs,andsoftware 114
Arnaud
6.1 Archives 114
6.2 Surveysandcatalogs 117
6.3 Software 125
6.4 Calibrationdata 129
7 Statistics 131
Siemiginowska
7.1 Introduction 131
7.2 ThestatisticalunderpinningofX-raydataanalysis 132
7.3 Probabilitydistributions 133
7.4 Parameterestimationandmaximumlikelihood 134
7.5 Confidencebounds 137
7.6 Hypothesistestingandmodelselection 138
7.7 Statisticalissues 141
8 Extendedemission 146
Kuntz
8.1 Introduction 146
8.2 Backgroundsandforegrounds 148
8.3 Initialanalysis 155
8.4 Spectralanalysis 156
8.5 Imageanalysis 158
8.6 Mosaics 162
Contents vii
Appendices
1 X-raylinesandedges 163
Smith
2 Conversiontables 170
Smith
3 TypicalX-raysources 175
Smith
4 MajorX-raysatellites 178
Smith
5 Astrostatistics 182
Siemiginowska
6 Acronyms 186
References 190
Index 195
Contributors
DanielA.Schwartz,Harvard-SmithsonianCenterforAstrophysics,
60GardenStreet,Cambridge,USA,MA02138
RichardJ.Edgar,Harvard-SmithsonianCenterforAstrophysics,60Garden
Street,Cambridge,USA,MA02138
CatherineE.Grant,MITKavliInstituteforAstrophysicsandSpace
Research,77MassachusettsAvenue,Cambridge,USA,MA02139
KeithA.Arnaud,NASAGoddardSpaceFlightCenter,Code662,Greenbelt,
USA,MD20771
RandallK.Smith,Harvard-SmithsonianCenterforAstrophysics,60Garden
Street,Cambridge,USA,MA02138
AnetaSiemiginowska,Harvard-SmithsonianCenterforAstrophysics,
60GardenStreet,Cambridge,USA,MA02138
K.D.Kuntz,JHUDepartmentofPhysics&Astronomy,3400N.Charles
Street,Baltimore,USA,MD21218
viii