Monte Carlo methods for x-ray dispersive spectrometers

John R. Peterson; J. Garrett Jernigan; Steven M. Kahn

doi:10.1117/12.461030

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19 December 2002 Monte Carlo Methods for X-ray Dispersive Spectrometers

John R. Peterson, J. Garrett Jernigan, Steven M. Kahn

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Proceedings Volume 4847, Astronomical Data Analysis II; (2002) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.461030
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2002, Waikoloa, Hawai'i, United States

Abstract

We discuss multivariate Monte Carlo methods appropriate for X-ray dispersive spectrometers. Dispersive spectrometers have many advantages for high resolution spectroscopy in the X-ray band. Analysis of data from these instruments is complicated by the fact that the instrument response functions are multi-dimensional and relatively few X-ray photons are detected from astrophysical sources. Monte Carlo methods are the natural solution to these challenges, but techniques for their use are not well developed. We describe a number of methods to produce a highly efficient and flexible multivariate Monte Carlo. These techniques include multi-dimensional response interpolation and multi-dimensional event comparison. We discuss how these methods have been extensively used in the XMM-Newton Reflection Grating Spectrometer in-flight calibration program. We also show several examples of a Monte Carlo applied to observations of clusters of galaxies and elliptical galaxies with the XMM-Newton observatory.

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John R. Peterson, J. Garrett Jernigan, and Steven M. Kahn "Monte Carlo Methods for X-ray Dispersive Spectrometers", Proc. SPIE 4847, Astronomical Data Analysis II, (19 December 2002); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.461030

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