Large Area X-ray Proportional Counter (LAXPC) instrument onboard ASTROSAT

J. S. Yadav; P. C. Agrawal; H. M. Antia; Jai Verdhan Chauhan; Dhiraj Dedhia; Tilak Katoch; P. Madhwani; R. K. Manchanda; Ranjeev Misra; Mayukh Pahari; B. Paul; Parag Shah

doi:10.1117/12.2231857

18 July 2016 Large Area X-ray Proportional Counter (LAXPC) instrument onboard ASTROSAT

J. S. Yadav, P. C. Agrawal, H. M. Antia, Jai Verdhan Chauhan, Dhiraj Dedhia, Tilak Katoch, P. Madhwani, R. K. Manchanda, Ranjeev Misra, Mayukh Pahari, B. Paul, Parag Shah

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9905, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2016: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray; 99051D (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2231857
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2016, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Abstract

ASTROSAT, India's first dedicated astronomy space mission was launched on September 28, 2015. The Large Area X-ray Proportional Counter (LAXPC) is one of the major payloads on ASTROSAT. A cluster of three co-aligned identical LAXPC detectors provide large area of collection .The large detection volume (15 cm depth) filled with mixture of xenon gas (90(%) and methane (10%) at ~ 2 atmospheres pressure, results in detection efficiency greater than 50%, above 30 keV. The LAXPC instrument is best suited for X-ray timing and spectral studies. It will provide the largest effective area in 3-80 keV range among all the satellite missions flown so far worldwide and will remain so for the next 5-10 years. The LAXPC detectors have been calibrated using radioactive sources in the laboratory. GEANT4 simulation for LAXPC detectors was carried out to understand detector background and its response. The LAXPC instrument became fully operational on 19^th October 2015 for the first time in space. We have performed detector calibration in orbit. The LAXPC instrument is functioning well and has achieved all detector parameters proposed initially. In this paper, we will describe LAXPC detector calibration in lab as well as in orbit along with first results.

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J. S. Yadav, P. C. Agrawal, H. M. Antia, Jai Verdhan Chauhan, Dhiraj Dedhia, Tilak Katoch, P. Madhwani, R. K. Manchanda, Ranjeev Misra, Mayukh Pahari, B. Paul, and Parag Shah "Large Area X-ray Proportional Counter (LAXPC) instrument onboard ASTROSAT", Proc. SPIE 9905, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2016: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 99051D (18 July 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2231857

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