The sensitivity of coded mask telescopes

TL;DR

This paper derives generalized formulas for the sensitivity of coded mask telescopes, accounting for real-world complications like detector resolution and support structures, and discusses optimal design parameters for improved source localization.

Contribution

It provides more accurate sensitivity expressions for coded mask telescopes under various conditions and offers a procedure for sensitivity calculation when simple formulas are insufficient.

Findings

Derived general sensitivity formulas applicable beyond ideal assumptions.

Identified optimal mask element size for best source localization.

Highlighted the impact of detector resolution and mask separation on sensitivity.

Abstract

Simple formulae are often used to estimate the sensitivity of coded mask X-ray or gamma-ray telescopes, but these are strictly only applicable if a number of basic assumptions are met. Complications arise, for example, if a grid structure is used to support the mask elements, if the detector spatial resolution is not good enough to completely resolve all the detail in the shadow of the mask or if any of a number of other simplifying conditions are not fulfilled. We derive more general expressions for the Poisson-noise-limited sensitivity of astronomical telescopes using the coded mask technique, noting explicitly in what circumstances they are applicable. The emphasis is on using nomenclature and techniques that result in simple and revealing results. Where no convenient expression is available a procedure is given which allows the calculation of the sensitivity. We consider certain aspects of the optimization of the design of a coded mask telescope and show that when the detector spatial resolution and the mask to detector separation are fixed, the best source location accuracy is obtained when the mask elements are equal in size to the detector pixels.