Fresnel Zone Plate Telescopes as high resolution imaging devices

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the use of Fresnel Zone Plate telescopes for high-resolution X-ray imaging, including experimental results, simulations, and a comparison with existing space-based X-ray instruments.

Contribution

It introduces the first space deployment of a Zone Plate telescope and provides detailed experimental and simulation analyses of its resolution and imaging capabilities.

Findings

Resolution decreases with nearby sources

Simulated galactic center observations are accurate

First space-based use of Zone Plate telescope

Abstract

Combination of Fresnel Zone Plates (FZP) can make excellent telescopes for imaging in X-rays. We present the results of our experiments with such telescopes with an X-ray source kept at a distance of 45 feet. We compare the patterns obtained from experiments with those obtained by our Monte-Carlo simulations. In simulations, we allow the sources to be at finite distances (diverging beam) as well as at infinite distances (parallel beam) and show that the resolution is worsened when the source is nearby. We also present simulated results for the observation of the galactic center and show that the sources may be reconstructed with accuracy. We compare the performance of such a telescope with other X-ray imaging devices used in space-astronomy. The Zone Plate based instrument has been sent for the first time in a recently launched KORONAS-FOTON satellite.