XMM-Newton Reflection Grating Spectrometer

arXiv (Cornell University)

Abstract

The past two decades have witnessed the rapid growth of our knowledge of the X-ray Universe thanks to flagship X-ray space observatories like XMM-Newton and Chandra. A significant portion of discoveries would have been impossible without the X-ray diffractive grating spectrometers aboard these two space observatories. We briefly overview the physical principles of diffractive grating spectrometers as the background to the beginning of a new era with the next-generation (diffractive and non-diffractive) high-resolution X-ray spectrometers. This chapter focuses on the Reflection Grating Spectrometer aboard XMM-Newton, which provides high-quality high-resolution spectra in the soft X-ray band. Its performance and excellent calibration quality have allowed breakthrough advancements in a wide range of astrophysical topics. For the benefit of new learners, we illustrate how to reduce RGS imaging, timing, and spectral data.

Authors 4

1. Junjie Mao

   Tsinghua University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Astronomy , Tsinghua University , Haidian DS 100084 , Beijing , People's Republic of China

2. Frits B. S. Paerels

   Columbia University

   Affiliation as printed

   Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory , 550 West 120th Street , New York , NY 10027 , USA

3. M. Guainazzi

   European Space Research and Technology Centre

   Affiliation as printed

   ESA European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) , Keplerlaan 1 , 2201 AZ , Noord- wijk , the Netherlands

4. Jelle S. Kaastra Aachen SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research

   Space Research Organisation Netherlands

   Affiliation as printed

   SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research , Niels Bohrweg 4 , 2333 CA Leiden , the Nether- lands