@Article{BragaDAPRSMSF:2015:PrHaXr,
author = "Braga, Jo{\~a}o and D'Amico, Fl{\'a}vio and Avila, Manuel
Antonio Castro and Penacchioni, Ana Virg{\'{\i}}nia and Reyes,
Jos{\'e} Rodrigo Sacahui and Santiago J{\'u}nior, Valdivino
Alexandre de and Mattiello-Francisco, Maria de F{\'a}tima and
Strauss, Cesar and Fialho, M{\'a}rcio Afonso Arimura",
affiliation = "{Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE)} and {Instituto
Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE)} and {Instituto Nacional de
Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE)} and {Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas
Espaciais (INPE)} and {Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais
(INPE)} and {Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE)} and
{Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE)} and {Instituto
Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE)} and {Instituto Nacional de
Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE)}",
title = "The protoMIRAX hard X-ray imaging balloon experiment",
journal = "Astronomy \& Astrophysics",
year = "2015",
volume = "A108",
keywords = "stars: black holes – balloons – instrumentation: detectors –
methods: laboratory: solid state – telescopes – space vehicles:
instruments.",
abstract = "Context. The protoMIRAX hard X-ray imaging telescope is a
balloon-borne experiment developed as a pathfinder for the MIRAX
satellite mission. The experiment consists essentially in a
coded-aperture hard X-ray (30200 keV) imager with a square array
(13 × 13) of 2 mm-thick planar CZT detectors with a total area of
169 cm2 . The total, fully-coded field-of-view is 21\◦ ×
21\◦ and the angular resolution is 1\◦430 . Aims.
The main objective of protoMIRAX is to carry out imaging
spectroscopy of selected bright sources to demonstrate the
performance of a prototype of the MIRAX hard X-ray imager. In this
paper we describe the protoMIRAX instrument and all the subsystems
of its balloon gondola, and we show simulated results of the
instrument performance. Methods. Detailed background and imaging
simulations were performed for protoMIRAX balloon flights. The
3\σ sensitivity for the 30200 keV range is \∼1.9 ×
10\−5 photons cm\−2 s \−1 for an integration
time of 8 h at an atmospheric depth of 2.7 g cm\−2 and an
average zenith angle of 30\◦ . We developed an
attitude-control system for the balloon gondola and new data
handling and ground systems that also include prototypes for the
MIRAX satellite. Results. We present the results of Monte Carlo
simulations of the camera response at balloon altitudes, showing
the expected background level and the detailed sensitivity of
protoMIRAX. We also present the results of imaging simulations of
the Crab region. Conclusions. The results show that protoMIRAX is
capable of making spectral and imaging observations of bright hard
X-ray source fields. Furthermore, the balloon observations will
carry out very important tests and demonstrations of MIRAX
hardware and software in a near space environment.",
doi = "10.1051/0004-6361/201526343",
url = "http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201526343",
issn = "0004-6361 and 1432-0746",
language = "en",
targetfile = "braga_the protomirax.pdf",
urlaccessdate = "27 abr. 2024"
}