Surveying the hard X-ray sky: imaging in space and time

✍ Scribed by J. E. Grindlay

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 382 KB
• Volume: 319
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0004-6337
• DOI: 10.1002/asna.2123190160

✦ Synopsis

One of the few remaining astronomical bands (factor of -10 in energy range) still without an all-sky imaging survey is the hard x-ray band (10-600 keV). This is in spite of sensitive imaging all-sky surveys already conducted at soft x-ray (0.2-2 keV; ROSAT) and soft/hard y-ray (-750 keV -10 GeV; COMPTEL/EGRET) energies and imminent for medium x-ray energies (2-10 keV; ABRIXAS). A hard x-ray imaging survey conducted with wide-field coded aperture telescopes allows both hight sensitivity (and spatial/spectral resolution) and broad temporal coverage. We derive a generalized survey sensitivity/temporal parameter, Q, and compare previous and planned hard x-ray surveys with the proposed EXIST mission. Key scientific objectives that could be addressed with the enhanced capability of EXIST are outlined.