Abstract
The X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) of the Advanced Telescope for High-ENergy Astrophysics (Athena) large-scale mission of ESA will provide spatially resolved high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy from 0.2 to 12 keV, with 5\(^{\prime \prime }\) pixels over a field of view of 5 arc minute equivalent diameter and a spectral resolution of 2.5 eV (FWHM) up to 7 keV. The core scientific objectives of Athena drive the main performance parameters of the X-IFU. We present the current reference configuration of the X-IFU, and the key issues driving the design of the instrument.
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Acknowledgements
The X-IFU will be provided by an international consortium led by France, The Netherlands and Italy, with further ESA member state contributions from Belgium, Finland, Germany, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and two partners from outside Europe (the USA and Japan). The research leading to the results on thermal filters and non-X-ray background has received funding from European Unions Horizon 2020 Program under the AHEAD Project (Grant Agreement No. 654215). A. Rozanska was supported by Polish National Science Center Grants Nos. 2015/17/B/ST9/03422, 2015/18/M/ST9/00541.
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Pajot, F., Barret, D., Lam-Trong, T. et al. The Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU). J Low Temp Phys 193, 901–907 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-018-1904-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-018-1904-5