The gamma-ray burst monitor for Lobster-ISS

Abstract

Lobster-ISS is an X-ray all-sky monitor experiment selected by ESA two years ago for a Phase A study (now almost completed) for a future flight (2009) aboard the Columbus Exposed Payload Facility of the International Space Station. The main instrument, based on MCP optics with Lobster-eye geometry, has an energy passband from 0.1 to 3.5 keV, an unprecedented daily sensitivity of 2×10 −12 erg cm −2 s −1 , and it is capable to scan, during each orbit, the entire sky with an angular resolution of 4-6 arcmin. This X-ray telescope is flanked by a Gamma Ray Burst Monitor, with the minimum requirement of recognizing true GRBs from other transient events. In this paper we describe the GRBM. In addition to the minimum requirement, the instrument proposed is capable to roughly localize GRBs which occur in the Lobster FOV (162×22.5 degrees) and to significantly extend the scientific capabilities of the main instrument for the study of GRBs and X-ray transients. The combination of the two instruments will allow an unprecedented spectral coverage (from 0.1 up to 300/700 keV) for a sensitive study of the GRB prompt emission in the passband where GRBs and X-Ray Flashes emit most of their energy. The low-energy spectral band (0.1-10 keV) is of key importance for the study of the GRB environment and the search of transient absorption and emission features from GRBs, both goals being crucial for unveiling the GRB phenomenon. The entire energy band of Lobster-ISS is not covered by either the Swift satellite or other GRB missions foreseen in the next decade.

Progress in the Development of CdTe and CdZnTe Semiconductor Radiation Detectors for Astrophysical and Medical Applications

“…These include: the French-Italian satellite mission Simbol-X (2012) [ 70 ], the European Gamma Ray Imager (GRI) mission (ESA Call for Cosmic Vision 2015-2025) [ 71 ] and the NASA NuSTAR mission [ 73 ]. Furthermore, the proposed detectors configuration can answer to the requirements of wide band and wide field new instrumentation such as it is required for GRB and/or all sky monitor in mission like LOBSTER [ 74 ] and EDGE [ 75 ] in which the extension both to low energies and to high energies can be particularly appealing for the scientific objectives.…”

Fabrication and Performance of Lobster Eye X-Ray Micro Pore Optics with the Ultra-high Aspect Ratio

“…Its wide-field imaging capability is achieved by using established lobster-eye micropore optics technology (Yuan et al 2018). Other Lobster-eye X-ray micropore optics satellites, such as SVOM and SMILE satellites, were in progress (Amati et al 2006;Peng et al 2018;Feldman et al 2020). Lobster eye X-ray optics are mainly used for soft X-ray wavelengths, and the optimal Lobster-eye microchannel structure requires an L/D of about 50:1.…”