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X-ray interferometry with transmissive beam combiners for ultra-high angular resolution astronomy

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Abstract

Interferometry provides one of the possible routes to ultra-high angular resolution for X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy. Sub-micro-arc-second angular resolution, necessary to achieve objectives such as imaging the regions around the event horizon of a super-massive black hole at the center of an active galaxy, can be achieved if beams from parts of the incoming wavefront separated by 100s of meters can be stably and accurately brought together at small angles. One way of achieving this is by using grazing incidence mirrors. We here investigate an alternative approach in which the beams are recombined by optical elements working in transmission. It is shown that the use of diffractive elements is a particularly attractive option. We report experimental results from a simple 2-beam interferometer using a low-cost commercially available profiled film as the diffractive elements. A rotationally symmetric filled (or mostly filled) aperture variant of such an interferometer, equivalent to an X-ray axicon, is shown to offer a much wider bandpass than either a Phase Fresnel Lens (PFL) or a PFL with a refractive lens in an achromatic pair. Simulations of an example system are presented.

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Notes

  1. Note : other explanations of the observations are possible, [e.g. 15].

  2. In fact with a 2 beam interferometer not even the value of y is critical if only the fringe amplitude (not phase) is required. y must simply be stable.

  3. http://lheawww.gsfc.nasa.gov/~kcg/beamline/home.html

  4. http://henke.lbl.gov/optical_constants

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Acknowledgements

The authors are is grateful to K. Gendreau, Z. Arzoumanian and the team responsible for the development of the GSFC 600 m interferometry test bed and to 3M Optical Service Division and Microsharp Corporation Ltd., U.K. for providing film samples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NASA-GSFC & CRESST, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA

    Gerald K. Skinner & John F. Krizmanic

  2. Dept. of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Gerald K. Skinner

  3. Universities Space Research Association, Columbia, MD, 21044, USA

    John F. Krizmanic

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  1. Gerald K. Skinner
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Correspondence to Gerald K. Skinner.

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Skinner, G.K., Krizmanic, J.F. X-ray interferometry with transmissive beam combiners for ultra-high angular resolution astronomy. Exp Astron 27, 61 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-009-9175-4

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