| Name: Rwitika Chatterjee |
| Affiliation: U. R. Rao Satellite Centre |
| Conference ID: ASI2026_455 |
| Title: The First Two Years of XSPECT: Instrument Calibration and Science Highlights |
| Abstract Type: Invited |
| Abstract Category: High Energy Phenomena, Fundamental Physics and Astronomy |
| Author(s) and Co-Author(s) with Affiliation: Rwitika Chatterjee(U. R. Rao Satellite Centre, Bangalore - 560037, India), Vivek Kumar Agrawal(U. R. Rao Satellite Centre, Bangalore - 560037, India), Koushal Vadodariya(U. R. Rao Satellite Centre, Bangalore - 560037, India), Radhakrishna V(U. R. Rao Satellite Centre, Bangalore - 560037, India), Shyam Prakash V. P.(U. R. Rao Satellite Centre, Bangalore - 560037, India), Vaishali Sharan(U. R. Rao Satellite Centre, Bangalore - 560037, India), Anurag Tyagi(U. R. Rao Satellite Centre, Bangalore - 560037, India), Kiran M Jayasurya(U. R. Rao Satellite Centre, Bangalore - 560037, India), Ramadevi M C(U. R. Rao Satellite Centre, Bangalore - 560037, India) |
| Abstract: XSPECT (X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing) is a soft X-ray (0.8 - 15 keV) spectrometer on-board the XPoSat satellite, launched on 2024 January 1. Employing a non-imaging variant of CCDs, the instrument is capable of fast readout, enabling pile-up free observations of bright sources in the soft X-ray band. Flown along with XSPECT is the world's first medium energy polarimeter, POLIX. Owing to the long stare durations required to carry out polarimetry, the mission design enables XSPECT to perform continuous long term observation of X-ray sources, allowing tracking of spectral state transitions in X-ray binaries and studies of their temporal evolution. This talk will briefly describe the instrument and its calibration, both on-ground and on-board, which establish its capabilities and enable the inversion of observational data into science.
Following the initial performance verification phase, science operations of XSPECT commenced on 2024 March 9. Since then, XSPECT has observed over 30 sources, covering neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries, X-ray pulsars, Black hole X-ray binaries, AGN, magnetars, and T Tauri stars. Several interesting science results have emerged from these observations. A few notable examples include detailed soft X-ray spectroscopy of the brightest persistent X-ray source Sco X-1 along its full Z-track, the observation of a superburst from the soft X-ray transient 4U 1608-52, and the detection of all modes of Type-II X-ray bursts from the peculiar source Rapid Burster. I will highlight some of these results, and also discuss the unique platform that XSPECT provides for future observations. |
