In-orbit Performance of the Soft X-ray Imaging Telescope Xtend aboard XRISM
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: We present a summary of the in-orbit performance of the soft X-ray imaging telescope Xtend onboard the XRISM mission, based on in-flight observation data, including first-light celestial objects, calibration sources, and results from the cross-calibration campaign with other currently-operating X-ray observatories. XRISM/Xtend has a large field of view of $38.5'\times38.5'$, covering an energy range of 0.4--13 keV, as demonstrated by the first-light observation of the galaxy cluster Abell 2319. It also features an energy resolution of 170--180 eV at 6 keV, which meets the mission requirement and enables to resolve He-like and H-like Fe K$\alpha$ lines. Throughout the observation during the performance verification phase, we confirm that two issues identified in SXI onboard the previous Hitomi mission -- light leakage and crosstalk events -- are addressed and suppressed in the case of Xtend. A joint cross-calibration observation of the bright quasar 3C273 results in an effective area measured to be $\sim420$ cm$^{2}[email protected] keV and $\sim310$ cm$^{2}[email protected] keV, which matches values obtained in ground tests. We also continuously monitor the health of Xtend by analyzing overclocking data, calibration source spectra, and day-Earth observations: the readout noise is stable and low, and contamination is negligible even one year after launch. A low background level compared to other major X-ray instruments onboard satellites, combined with the largest grasp ($\Omega_{\rm eff}\sim60$ ${\rm cm^2~degree^2}$) of Xtend, will not only support Resolve analysis, but also enable significant scientific results on its own. This includes near future follow-up observations and transient searches in the context of time-domain and multi-messenger astrophysics.
DOI: 10.13016/m2losc-tk1w
Authors: Uchida, Hiroyuki, Mori, Koji, Tomida, Hiroshi, Nakajima, Hiroshi, Noda, Hirofumi, Tanaka, Takaaki, Murakami, Hiroshi, Suzuki, Hiromasa, Kobayashi, Shogo Benjamin, Yoneyama, Tomokage, Hagino, Kouichi, Nobukawa, Kumiko Kawabata, Uchiyama, Hideki, Nobukawa, Masayoshi, Matsumoto, Hironori, Tsuru, Takeshi Go, Yamauchi, Makoto, Hatsukade, Isamu, Odaka, Hirokazu, Kohmura, Takayoshi, Yamaoka, Kazutaka, Yoshida, Tessei, Kanemaru, Yoshiaki, Ishi, Daiki, Dotani, Tadayasu, Ozaki, Masanobu, Tsunemi, Hiroshi, Miyazaki, Keitaro, Kusunoki, Kohei, Otsuka, Yoshinori, Yokosu, Haruhiko, Yonemaru, Wakana, Ichikawa, Kazuhiro, Nakano, Hanako, Takemoto, Reo, Matsushima, Tsukasa, Urase, Reika, Kurashima, Jun, Fuchi, Kotomi, Hayakawa, Kaito, Fukuda, Masahiro, Inoue, Shun, Aoki, Yuma, Takayama, Kouta, Sako, Takashi, Yoshimoto, Marina, Shima, Kohei, Higuchi, Mayu, Ninoyu, Kaito, Aoki, Daiki, Tsunomachi, Shun, Okajima, Takashi, Ishida, Manabu, Maeda, Yoshitomo, Hayashi, Takayuki, Tamura, Keisuke, Boissay-Malaquin, Rozenn, Sato, Toshiki, Takeo, Mai, Miyamoto, Asca, Matsumoto, Gakuto, Eckart, Megan E., Hell, Natalie, Leutenegger, Maurice A., Hayashida,
Language: English
Subfield: Instrumentation
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6941381255
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