Spectrum-X-Gamma - Renovated X-ray astrophysical project of Russian Federal Space Program 2006-2015

by

Mikhail N. Pavlinskiy, Doctor of Science
Deputy Director for Science
Russian Space Research Institute (IKI)

Thursday, 7 June 2007
Socialization : 10:15 a.m.
Presentation : 10:30 a.m.
Location: NSSTC, Room 2096
320 Sparkman Drive
Huntsville, AL 35805

A medium size satellite will be launched in the 2011 timeframe into LEO 600 km (≤ 30 deg.) orbit from Baikonur or into an equatorial (≤ 5 deg.) orbit from Kourou as a fallback option. The payload includes eROSITA (extended ROentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array, MPE, Germany) with 7 Wolter-type telescopes, the X-ray telescope-concentrator ART-XC based on 14 Wolter-type cone-cone mirror systems (IKI, Russia) and the wide field X-ray monitor Lobster (LU, UK). The instrumental enhancements to the payload to boost its scientific output are in discussion. High particle background on high apogee orbits severely affects the capabilities of X-ray telescopes to study diffuse emission. For new baseline configuration of the SRG mission a low earth orbit was selected to circumvent this limitation. The mission will conduct the first all-sky survey with an imaging telescope in the 2-12 keV band to discover the hidden population of several hundred thousand obscured supermassive black holes and the first all-sky imaging X-ray time variability survey. In addition to the all-sky surveys it is foreseen to observe the extragalactic sky with high sensitivity to detect 100 thousand clusters of galaxies and thereafter to do follow-up pointed observations of selected sources. The new SRG mission would thus be a highly significant scientific and technological step beyond Chandra/XMM-Newton and would provide important and timely inputs for the next generation of giant X-ray observatories like XEUS/Con-X planned for the 2015-2025 horizon.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:

Dr. Mikhail N. Pavlinskiy received MS degree from Moscow Physics Engineering Institute (MEPhI) in 1983, Ph. D. in 1991 and Doctor of Science in 2000 (both from Russian Space Research Institute). Doctoral thesis were concerned with research on the Galactic Centre (GC) region in X-ray energy band based on the data from the X-ray coded mask ART-P telescope onboard GRANAT observatory. His research interests are in the field of the high energy astrophysics, the X-ray astronomy and the space science instrumentation. Professional experience includes designing of the coded-mask X-ray telescope ART-P for GRANAT project, processing of the ART-P data, imaging the Galactic Centre in 3-30 keV, studying the energy spectra of sources nearby the GC (neutron stars, black hole candidates); designing of instruments for astrophysical mission Spectrum-XG. Currently he is the Deputy Director for Science of the Russian Space Research Institute (IKI). Since 1995 he also holds a position of the scientific coordinator for the Russian-Turkish Optical Observatory in Turkey based on 1.5 meter telescope.

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