X-ray polarization measurements can provide unique information that is complementary to that obtained through spectroscopic or imaging observations. However, there have been few cases where significant x-ray polarization has been observed. XL-Calibur, conducted in collaboration between Japan, the United States of America, and Sweden, is a balloon-borne mission that aims to conduct high-sensitivity polarimetric observations in the hard x-ray band from 15 to 80 keV. The Japanese group is in charge of developing the Hard X-ray Telescope (HXT) with high light-gathering power. Optical adjustments were completed in 2020, and the performance of the HXT was measured in June 2021 at the SPring-8 (synchrotron radiation facility in Hyogo, Japan). Subsequently, in July 2022, the first observation was conducted from Sweden to Canada. After the flight, the HXT was recovered, and we measured its performance again. By comparing the HXT performances before and after the flight, we found no significant changes that can affect the second flight scheduled in 2024.
We have been developing silicon foil X-ray optics using a hot plastic deformation process for future astronomical observations. Our foil mirror is made of a 0.3-mm thick silicon wafer and is plastically deformed into a high-accurate conical shape with a curvature radius of ~100 mm. The angular resolution we evaluated using a test sample mirror was ~32 arcseconds in the best region. We have also successfully coated a platinum film on the foil mirror using the atomic layer deposition process. In this talk, we report on the fabrication method and the X-ray imaging capability of our silicon foil X-ray optics.
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