XIAO: a soft X-ray telescope for the SVOM Mission

TL;DR

XIAO is a compact soft X-ray telescope designed for the SVOM mission, enhancing gamma-ray burst detection and multiwavelength observations with high efficiency and rapid response capabilities.

Contribution

The paper introduces XIAO, a novel small soft X-ray telescope with a grazing incidence design and fast CCD camera, specifically developed as part of the SVOM mission.

Findings

Effective area of ~120 cm^2 for X-ray detection

Compact design suitable for space deployment

Enhanced capabilities for GRB and non-GRB science

Abstract

The study of Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is a key field to expand our understanding of several astrophysical and cosmological phenomena. SVOM is a Chinese-French Mission which will permit to detect and rapidly locate GRBs, in particular those at high redshift, and to study their multiwavelength emission. The SVOM satellite, to be launched in 2013, will carry wide field instruments operating in the X/gamma-ray band and narrow field optical and soft X-ray telescopes. Here we describe a small soft X-ray telescope (XIAO) proposed as an Italian contribution to the SVOM mission. Thanks to a grazing incidence X-ray telescope with effective area of ~120 cm^2 and a short focal length, coupled to a very compact, low noise, fast read out CCD camera, XIAO can substantially contribute to the overall SVOM capabilities for both GRB and non-GRB science.