The swift x-ray telescope: status and performance

Details The swift x-ray telescope: status and performance The swift x-ray telescope: status and performance

Sep 2007

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007spie.6686e...7b&link_type=abstract

UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XV. Edited by Siegmund, Oswald H. Proceedings of the SPIE, Volume

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

1

Scientific paper

We present science highlights and performance from the Swift X-ray Telescope (XRT), which was launched on November 20, 2004. The XRT covers the 0.2-10 keV band, and spends most of its time observing gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows, though it has also performed observations of many other objects. By mid-August 2007, the XRT had observed over 220 GRB afterglows, detecting about 96% of them. The XRT positions enable followup ground-based optical observations, with roughly 60% of the afterglows detected at optical or near IR wavelengths. Redshifts are measured for 33% of X-ray afterglows. Science highlights include the discovery of flaring behavior at quite late times, with implications for GRB central engines; localization of short GRBs, leading to observational support for compact merger progenitors for this class of bursts; a mysterious plateau phase to GRB afterglows; as well as many other interesting observations such as X-ray emission from comets, novae, galactic transients, and other objects.

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