Line emission mapper microcalorimeter spectrometer

Journal of Astronomical Telescopes Instruments and Systems, vol. 9, pp. 1–25

Abstract

The line emission mapper (LEM) is a probe-class mission concept that is designed to detect x-ray emission lines from hot ionized gas (T > 106 K) that will enable us to test galaxy evolution theories. It will permit us to study the effects of stellar and black-hole feedback and flows of baryonic matter into and out of galaxies. The key to being able to study the hot gases that are otherwise invisible to current imaging x-ray spectrometers is that the energy resolution is sufficient to use cosmological redshift to separate extragalactic source lines from foreground Milky Way emission. LEM incorporates a large-format microcalorimeter array instrument called the LEM microcalorimeter spectrometer (LMS) with a light-weight x-ray optic with 10” half power diameter angular resolution. The LMS microcalorimeter array has pixels with 15″ pixel pitch over a 33′ field of view (FOV) optimized for the 0.3 to 2 keV energy band. The central 7′ region of the array has an energy resolution of 1.3 eV at 1 keV and the rest of the FOV has 2.5 eV energy resolution at 1 keV. The array will be read out with state-of-the-art time-division multiplexing. We present an overview of the LMS instrument, including details of the entire detection chain, the focal plane assembly, as well as the cooling system and overall mechanical and thermal design. For each of the key technologies, we discuss the current technology readiness level and the plan to advance them to be ready for flight. We also describe the current system design and our estimate for the mass, power, and data rate of the instrument. The design details presented concentrate primarily on the unique aspects of the LMS design compared with prior missions and confirm that the type of microcalorimeter instrument needed for LEM is not only feasible but also technically mature.

Authors 31

1. S. R. Bandler corresponding

   Goddard Space Flight Center · National Aeronautics and Space Administration

   Affiliation as printed

   NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr

   NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States (United States)

2. J. S. Adams

   Goddard Space Flight Center · National Aeronautics and Space Administration · University of Maryland, Baltimore County

   Affiliation as printed

   NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr

   CRESST and University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States (United States)

   NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States (United States)

3. Edward G. Amatucci

   Goddard Space Flight Center · National Aeronautics and Space Administration

   Affiliation as printed

   NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr

   NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States (United States)

4. Edgar R. Canavan

   Goddard Space Flight Center · National Aeronautics and Space Administration

   Affiliation as printed

   NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr

   NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States (United States)

5. James A. Chervenak

   Goddard Space Flight Center · National Aeronautics and Space Administration

   Affiliation as printed

   NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr

   NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States (United States)

6. Renata Cumbee

   Goddard Space Flight Center · National Aeronautics and Space Administration

   Affiliation as printed

   NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr

   NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States (United States)

7. Johannes Dercksen Aachen SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research Netherlands Institute for Space Research

   Space Research Organisation Netherlands

   Affiliation as printed

   SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research

   SRON, Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Leiden, The Netherlands (The Netherlands)

8. Michael DiPirro

   Goddard Space Flight Center · National Aeronautics and Space Administration

   Affiliation as printed

   NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr

   NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States (United States)

9. William Bertrand Doriese

   National Institute of Standards and Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   National Institute of Standards and Technology

   National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado, United States (United States)

10. Megan E. Eckart

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    Lawrence Livermore National Lab

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California, United States (United States)

11. Manuel González

    Laboratoire AstroParticule et Cosmologie

    Affiliation as printed

    Astroparticule et Cosmologie

    Astroparticle and Cosmology Laboratory, Paris, France (France)

12. Janice Houston

    Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

    Affiliation as printed

    Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

    Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Maryland, United States (United States)

13. Brian D. Jackson Aachen SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research Netherlands Institute for Space Research

    Space Research Organisation Netherlands

    Affiliation as printed

    SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research

    SRON, Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Leiden, The Netherlands (The Netherlands)

14. Amir E. Jahromi

    Goddard Space Flight Center · National Aeronautics and Space Administration

    Affiliation as printed

    NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr

    NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States (United States)

15. Steven J. Kenyon

    Goddard Space Flight Center · National Aeronautics and Space Administration

    Affiliation as printed

    NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr

    NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States (United States)

16. Caroline Anne Kilbourne

    Goddard Space Flight Center · National Aeronautics and Space Administration

    Affiliation as printed

    NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr

    NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States (United States)

17. Edmund J. Hodges-Kluck

    Goddard Space Flight Center · National Aeronautics and Space Administration

    Affiliation as printed

    NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr

    NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States (United States)

18. Ralph Kraft

    Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

    Affiliation as printed

    Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

    Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Maryland, United States (United States)

19. Xiaoyi Li

    Goddard Space Flight Center

    Affiliation as printed

    NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States

    NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States (United States)

20. Maxim L. Markevitch

    Goddard Space Flight Center · National Aeronautics and Space Administration

    Affiliation as printed

    NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr

    NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States (United States)

21. D. McCammon

    University of Wisconsin–Madison

    Affiliation as printed

    Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison

    University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, United States (United States)

22. Jeffrey R. Olson

    Lockheed Martin (United States)

    Affiliation as printed

    Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co

    Lockheed Martin Space, Palo Alto, California, United States

23. Kazuhiro Sakai

    Goddard Space Flight Center · National Aeronautics and Space Administration · University of Maryland, Baltimore County

    Affiliation as printed

    NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr

    CRESST and University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States (United States)

    NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States (United States)

24. Daniel Patnaude

    Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

    Affiliation as printed

    Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

    Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Maryland, United States (United States)

25. Frederick Scott Porter

    Goddard Space Flight Center · National Aeronautics and Space Administration

    Affiliation as printed

    NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr

    NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States (United States)

26. D. Prêle

    Laboratoire AstroParticule et Cosmologie

    Affiliation as printed

    Astroparticule et Cosmologie

    Astroparticle and Cosmology Laboratory, Paris, France (France)

27. Peter John Shirron

    Goddard Space Flight Center · National Aeronautics and Space Administration

    Affiliation as printed

    NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr

    NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States (United States)

28. S. J. Smith

    Goddard Space Flight Center · National Aeronautics and Space Administration

    Affiliation as printed

    NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr

    NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States (United States)

29. Terrence M. Smith

    Goddard Space Flight Center · National Aeronautics and Space Administration

    Affiliation as printed

    NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr

    NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States (United States)

30. Nicholas A. Wakeham

    Goddard Space Flight Center · National Aeronautics and Space Administration · University of Maryland, Baltimore County

    Affiliation as printed

    NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr

    CRESST and University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States (United States)

    NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States (United States)

31. Henk J. van Weers Aachen SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research Netherlands Institute for Space Research

    Space Research Organisation Netherlands

    Affiliation as printed

    SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research

    SRON, Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Leiden, The Netherlands (The Netherlands)