First SphinX Workshop 29 – 31 May, 2007, Wrocław Poland Janusz Sylwester

Janusz Sylwester Space Research Centre, Polish Academy of

Sciences, Wrocław

Sergey KuzinP.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow, RAS

Yury D. KotovMePhi, Astrophysical Laboratory, Moscow Technical University

Frantisek FarnikAstronomical Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences

Fabio RealeAstronomical Observatory, Palermo Universty, Italy

SphinX the ideas behind the Project

SphinX aims• Detect variability of the 0.5 keV– 12 keV solar signal (in

the 0.1 – 0.01 Hz frequency range) with 1% accuracy• Detect variability in three sharp & narrow wavelength

bands containing strong emission lines (in the sub Hz frequency range)

• Detect changing Line-to-Continuum ratios in order to study coronal plasma composition and differential emission measure (DEM)

• Establish absolute soft X-ray photometry standards (5 % accuracy) through calibration with the synchrotron source (BESSY-Berlin)

• Push down detection limits in the 0.5 keV– 12 keV energy band by two orders of magnitude (respective to GOES X-ray standard photometry or RHESSI)

First SphinX Workshop 29 – 31 May, 2007, Wrocław Poland Janusz Sylwester

Present low activity limitationsexcept Hinode and SOXS,

no instrument can measure the quiet Sun flux reliably

It is, that for the solar minimum conditions, like at present (see the 2006 March 6 example above), no positive solar soft X-ray signal can be detected - and therefore

no sensible temperature and EM determinations are possible. This will not be the case with the SphinX operational, as the expected count rate

would be in the range 500 – 2000 cts/s for the corresponding activity level, somewhat depending on the coronal „quietest” Sun coronal model.

GOES 1 – 8 Å threshold

GOES 0.5 – 4 Å threshold

No clear solar signal

just orbital background

First SphinX Workshop 29 – 31 May, 2007, Wrocław Poland Janusz Sylwester

SphinX placement

• A part of the science payload of the next CORONAS Solar Mission

lead by Prof. Yuri D. Kotov.

• A part of the TESIS Telescope & Spectrometer complex developed at the P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute,

Moscow, PI dr. Sergey Kuzin.

Launch: June - 2008First SphinX Workshop 29 – 31 May, 2007, Wrocław Poland Janusz Sylwester

PointingThree axis stabilised in the sense that the main axis points towards the optical Sun

centre within 10 arcmin box. The roll is kept constant by TESIS stellar sensors.

CORONAS-PhotonRussian confirmed national projest + India, Ukraine, Polandhttp://www.astro.mephi.ru/english/e_photon.htm

Mass ~2500 kg, 8.2 Gb/day

OrbitPolar, circular (500 km), 95 min, semi-Sun-

synchonous (82.5°), up to 20 days uninterrupted solar illumination,

passes through SAA (6 orbits/24h) and polar ovals (4 times/orbit)

Nominal mission lifetime, 3 years

First SphinX Workshop 29 – 31 May, 2007, Wrocław Poland Janusz Sylwester

a)~alignment mirror, perpendicular to Sun direction,

b)~entrance openings covered with optical EUV stoppers - example solar ray is indicated,

c)~mechanical collimators narrowing the detectors FOV to within 2.5 degree of the Sun,

d)~the shutter motor,

e)~moving tray with the shutter and fluorescence calibration filters,

f)~three spectrophotometric detectors,

g)~electronics with microcontroller

h)~cooling heat pipe,

i)~three-narrow band filter-detector sections,

j)~pre-amplifiers, independent for each detector.

First SphinX Workshop 29 – 31 May, 2007, Wrocław Poland Janusz Sylwester

SphinX components

Made by Amptek USA, pure Si 500 μm PIN ~20 mm2 aperture,

Equipped with Be 12.5 micrometer window, Peltier-cooled, 50 deg below the support

temperatureEnergy resolution: 150 – 190 eV

Dynamic range: 105

Used on Mars for mineral spectroscopy Courtesy of the University of Chicago.

The detectors

Fe55

First SphinX Workshop 29 – 31 May, 2007, Wrocław Poland Janusz Sylwester

Input Apertures

SphinX characteristics: Mass ~ 3.5 kg, Power ~15 W, Telemetry ~ 50 MB/24hours

SphinX construction details

Heat sink pipe

Shutter motor with calibration openings

5° FOVlimiters

3 detector

egineering

model

First SphinX Workshop 29 – 31 May, 2007, Wrocław Poland Janusz Sylwester

Front apertures

• Narrow-band Filter-Fluorescence unit

• Direct full Sun fluxes illuminate detectors through three calibrated apertures of:

19.96, 0.397 and 0.0785 mm2

overall dynamic range

7 decades A0.1 - X20

First SphinX Workshop 29 – 31 May, 2007, Wrocław Poland Janusz Sylwester

Energy calibration through fluorescence

Filter Mg Filter Ti

First SphinX Workshop 29 – 31 May, 2007, Wrocław Poland Janusz Sylwester

What will be measured?

• Direct soft (0.5 keV– 15 keV) X-ray photons from entire visible solar corona (within 5° FOV) – Time & energy stamping technique (1 μs) for activity levels below

B GOES class (rates: 103 - 104 /sec)

• Photon energy spectra (0.5 keV– 15 keV) for higher activity– in 256 energy channels (100 times per sec)

(rates: 102 - 103 /bin/sec)

– Energy resolution (150-190 eV) ,depending on det. temperature

• Calibration peaks from three fluorescence transmission filters (e.g. Mg, Ti, Cu) – for detector gain changes

• Flare flags will be issued & transmitted to TESIS and entire CORONAS S/C including: flare phase, expected level to be reached, duration etc.

First SphinX Workshop 29 – 31 May, 2007, Wrocław Poland Janusz Sylwester

X20, 45000 c/s

A1, 400 c/s

Expected detector rates

Aperture D1 Aperture D2

Aperture D3

Cts

/s/d

etec

tor

First SphinX Workshop 29 – 31 May, 2007, Wrocław Poland Janusz Sylwester

Expected spectra- results from modeling (CHIANTI)

First SphinX Workshop 29 – 31 May, 2007, Wrocław Poland Janusz Sylwester

Expected spectra- results from modeling (CHIANTI)

First SphinX Workshop 29 – 31 May, 2007, Wrocław Poland Janusz Sylwester

Per 1 cm2

Narrow-band Filter-Fluorescence unit FFUnew measurement concept for narrow band X-ray photometry

The higher energy part of X-ray spectrum is blocked by a filter (absorption Edge).

Fluorescence is excited above the emission edge

First SphinX Workshop 29 – 31 May, 2007, Wrocław Poland Janusz Sylwester

FFU design

T= 3.2 MK, EM = 5.e46 cm-3

(cts/s)Al+Mg 450 Ti+Ca 0.01 Fe+Cr 0.00

T= 16 MK,

EM = 1.e49 cm-3

(cts/s)

Al+Mg 2e4

Ti+Ca 7e3

Fe+Cr 3e3

First SphinX Workshop 29 – 31 May, 2007, Wrocław Poland Janusz Sylwester

Data formatting

• Time stamping (up to 104/s rates)– energy (256 channels)– time (1 microsec) each detector

• Spectral mode for higher rates– cts/energy bin (100 Hz)

• Will fact as the flare monitor for TESIS– algorithm to report status of solar soft X-ray

activity: quiet/flare, level BX20

First SphinX Workshop 29 – 31 May, 2007, Wrocław Poland Janusz Sylwester

Data processing & control

• Served by TESIS main computer– data compression to telemetry– changing modes of data gathering: 3 modes– commanding the shutter motor: calibration– sending commands and programs to SphinX– processing the data for activity status

First SphinX Workshop 29 – 31 May, 2007, Wrocław Poland Janusz Sylwester

In-flight callibration

• Use of secondary fluorescence radiation with three material targets– three peaks at precisely known Energies

• Mg 1.5 keV• Ti 4.5 keV• Cu 8 keV

– will be resolved by amplitude discriminator– possible only for flares (however)

M1 at maximum phase

Will see pile-up peaks growing

First SphinX Workshop 29 – 31 May, 2007, Wrocław Poland Janusz Sylwester

Problems to be investigated

• Quiet corona heating processes via photon arrival time-distance analysis

• Flare related soft X-ray oscillations(1 s - 500 s periods)

• Transient ionization plasma diagnostics (Ne)• Solar coronal compositional variability for

Mg, Al, Si, S, Ar, Ca and Fe (O, Ne, Na?)• Differential Emission Measure variability with

related flare modeling• Absolute (5%) and relative (1%) solar soft X-ray

photometry – development of reference system

First SphinX Workshop 29 – 31 May, 2007, Wrocław Poland Janusz Sylwester

Instrument Status

• All flight parts collected

• Flight unit under assembly

• Tests schedule– Permanent local test using Fe55 and v.c.– Early Sept 2007 in BESSY synchrotron– Sept/Oct 2007 at XACT Palermo– Mid-Oct 2007 vibration Prague– End Oct. – delivery of flight unit to Moscow

First SphinX Workshop 29 – 31 May, 2007, Wrocław Poland Janusz Sylwester

s o l a r

photometer

in X

-ray

sFirst SphinX Workshop 29 – 31 May, 2007, Wrocław Poland Janusz Sylwester