Simulation Studies for the First Pathfinder of the CATCH Space Mission

Abstract

The Chasing All Transients Constellation Hunters (CATCH) space mission is an intelligent constellation consisting of 126 micro-satellites in three types (A, B, and C), designed for X-ray observation with the objective of studying the dynamic universe. Currently, we are actively developing the first Pathfinder (CATCH-1) for the CATCH mission, specifically for type-A satellites. CATCH-1 is equipped with Micro Pore Optics (MPO) and a 4-pixel Silicon Drift Detector (SDD) array. To assess its scientific performance, including the effective area of the optical system, on-orbit background, and telescope sensitivity, we employ the Monte Carlo software Geant4 for simulation in this study. The MPO optics exhibit an effective area of 41 cm^2 at the focal spot for 1 keV X-rays, while the entire telescope system achieves an effective area of 29 cm^2 at 1 keV when taking into account the SDD detector’s detection efficiency. The primary contribution to the background is found to be from the Cosmic X-ray Background. Assuming a 625 km orbit with an inclination of 29◦, the total background for CATCH-1 is estimated to be 8.08 × 10^−2 counts s−1 in the energy range of 0.5–4 keV. Based on the background within the central detector and assuming a Crab-like source spectrum, the estimated ideal sensitivity could achieve 1.9 × 10^−12 erg cm−2 s−1 for an exposure of 10^4 s in the energy band of 0.5–4 keV. Furthermore, after simulating the background caused by low-energy charged particles near the geomagnetic equator, we have determined that there is no need to install a magnetic deflector.