The Wide Field Monitor (WFM) of the China-Europe eXTP (enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry) mission

The eXTP (enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry) mission is a major project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), with a large involvement of Europe. Its scientific payload includes four instruments: SFA (Spectroscopy Focusing Array), PFA (Polarimetry Focusing Array), LAD (Large Area Detector) and WFM (Wide Field Monitor). They offer an unprecedented simultaneous wide-band Xray timing and polarimetry sensitivity. A large European consortium is contributing to the eXTP study, both for the science and the instrumentation. Europe is expected to provide two of the four instruments: LAD and WFM; the LAD is led by Italy and the WFM by Spain. The WFM for eXTP is based on the design originally proposed for the LOFT ESA M3 mission, that underwent a Phase A feasibility study. It will be a wide field of view X-ray monitor instrument working in the 2-50 keV energy range, achieved with large-area Silicon Drift Detectors (SDDs), similar to the ones used for the LAD but with better spatial resolution. The WFM will consist of 3 pairs of coded mask cameras with a total combined field of view (FoV) of 90x180 degrees at zero response and a source localisation accuracy of ~1 arc min. The main goal of the WFM onboard eXTP is to provide triggers for the target of opportunity observations of the narrow field of view instruments (SFA, PFA and LAD), in order to perform the core science observation programme, dedicated to the study of matter under extreme conditions of density, gravity and magnetism. In addition, the unprecedented combination of large field of view and imaging capability, down to 2 keV, of the WFM will allow eXTP to make important discoveries of the variable and transient X-ray sky, and provide X-ray coverage of a broad range of astrophysical objects covered under 'observatory science', such as gamma-ray bursts, fast radio bursts, gravitational wave electromagnetic counterparts. In this paper we provide an overview of the WFM instrument, explaining its design, configuration, and anticipated performance. Right now, eXTP is in phase B2, after a successful I-SRR (Instrument System Requirements Review). It is waiting for the adoption of the whole eXTP mission in China. Details about the current work in Phase B2, including the manufacturing and testing of the demonstration models of the WFM subsystems, will be presented, paying also a special emphasis on the collaboration with space dedicated industrial partners.

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Published
2024-08-21
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3020020
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations
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article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.66

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The Wide Field Monitor (WFM) of the China-Europe eXTP (enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry) mission

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2 citations
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article

The Wide Field Monitor (WFM) of the China-Europe eXTP (enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry) mission

Hao Xiong, Emrah Kalemci, I. Kuvvetli, O. Limousin, Y. P. Xu, Y. Evangelista, R. Campana, Onur Turhan, S. Brandt, Ahmet Onat, Konrad Skup, A. Vacchi, M. Feroci, Shuang‐Nan Zhang, Alessio Nuti, Giovanni Della Casa, A. Picciotto, E. Del Monte, R. Munini, V. Bonvicini, Müberra Sungur, M. Boezio, F. Ficorella, Alex Carmona, Rob de la Rie, J. L. Gálvez Sanchez, M. Hernanz, F. Bouyjou, F. J. Lu, Phillip Laubert, L. Kuiper, J. Bayer, D. Cirrincione, E. Bozzo, A. Argan, M. Antonelli, Witold Nowosielski, P. Orleański, D. Baudin, A. Santangelo, Gabby Aitink-Kroes, Frans Zwart, O. Gevin, Alessandro Patruno, Irina Rashevskaya, Nicola Zorzi, Daniel Alvarez Franco, Nicola Zampa, Gianluigi Zampa, Stéphane Schanne, Francesco Ceraudo, G. Minervini, A. Rachevski, Małgorzata Michalska, Aline Meuris, Denis Tcherniak, Paul Hedderman, Ayhan Bozkurt, J. in’t Zand, Samuel Pliego, C. Tenzer
article en
2 citations

Abstract

The eXTP (enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry) mission is a major project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), with a large involvement of Europe. Its scientific payload includes four instruments: SFA (Spectroscopy Focusing Array), PFA (Polarimetry Focusing Array), LAD (Large Area Detector) and WFM (Wide Field Monitor). They offer an unprecedented simultaneous wide-band Xray timing and polarimetry sensitivity. A large European consortium is contributing to the eXTP study, both for the science and the instrumentation. Europe is expected to provide two of the four instruments: LAD and WFM; the LAD is led by Italy and the WFM by Spain. The WFM for eXTP is based on the design originally proposed for the LOFT ESA M3 mission, that underwent a Phase A feasibility study. It will be a wide field of view X-ray monitor instrument working in the 2-50 keV energy range, achieved with large-area Silicon Drift Detectors (SDDs), similar to the ones used for the LAD but with better spatial resolution. The WFM will consist of 3 pairs of coded mask cameras with a total combined field of view (FoV) of 90x180 degrees at zero response and a source localisation accuracy of ~1 arc min. The main goal of the WFM onboard eXTP is to provide triggers for the target of opportunity observations of the narrow field of view instruments (SFA, PFA and LAD), in order to perform the core science observation programme, dedicated to the study of matter under extreme conditions of density, gravity and magnetism. In addition, the unprecedented combination of large field of view and imaging capability, down to 2 keV, of the WFM will allow eXTP to make important discoveries of the variable and transient X-ray sky, and provide X-ray coverage of a broad range of astrophysical objects covered under 'observatory science', such as gamma-ray bursts, fast radio bursts, gravitational wave electromagnetic counterparts. In this paper we provide an overview of the WFM instrument, explaining its design, configuration, and anticipated performance. Right now, eXTP is in phase B2, after a successful I-SRR (Instrument System Requirements Review). It is waiting for the adoption of the whole eXTP mission in China. Details about the current work in Phase B2, including the manufacturing and testing of the demonstration models of the WFM subsystems, will be presented, paying also a special emphasis on the collaboration with space dedicated industrial partners.

Centrum Badań Kosmicznych (PL), Institute of Space Sciences (ES), Sabancı Üniversitesi (TR), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ES), Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (IT), Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu (TR), Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR), Université Paris-Saclay (FR), Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (ES), Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology (IT), Institute of Space Sciences (ES), CEA Paris-Saclay (FR), Institut de Recherche sur les Lois Fondamentales de l'Univers (FR), University of Tübingen (DE)
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