Simulation method of performance of X-ray focusing mirror under actual surface state used in FXT on board EP satellite

Abstract

The Follow-up X-ray Telescope (FXT) is one of the main payloads on board the Einstein probe satellite. In order to obtain data with high signal-to-noise ratio and realize high-precision positioning of the sources, FXT adopts the Wolter-I X-ray focusing optical system which has been wildly used in X-ray astronomy. According to the principle of Wolter-I and combining the actual manufacture characteristics, we simulate several key parameters affecting the optical quality by Monte Carlo simulation algorithm, such as surface roughness Root-Mean Square (RMS) and surface profile error. The effect of each parameter is analyzed according to the simulation results. Then, the simulation method is verified by the test results of the focusing mirrors provided by PANTER laboratory, and the surface profile error parameters are restricted. The simulation results of the half energy width of the structural-thermal module mirror are basically consistent with the test results. This method can be effectively applied to the later study of focusing mirror manufacture and can accumulate experience for testing and calibrating FXT focusing mirrors. Furthermore, combining the tested calibration data, some key performance of the mirrors can be obtained by this simulation method, such as the effective area, vignetting and the point spread function, which can compose the on-orbit calibration database.