MG14 - Talk detail

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The protoMIRAX hard X-ray imaging telescope is a balloon-borne experiment developed as a pathfinder for the MIRAX satellite mission. In this work we describe the protoMIRAX instrument and all the subsystems of its balloon gondola, and we show simulated results of the instrument performance. Detailed background and imaging simulations have been performed for protoMIRAX balloon flights. The 3σ sensitivity for the 30-200 keV range is ~1.9 × 10−5 photons cm^−2 s^−1 for an integration time of 8 h at an atmospheric depth of 2.7 g cm^−2 and an average zenith angle of 30°. We present the results of Monte Carlo simulations of the camera response at balloon altitudes, showing the expected background level and the detailed sensitivity of protoMIRAX. We also present the results of imaging simulations of the Crab region. The results show that protoMIRAX is capable of making spectral and imaging observations of bright hard X-ray source fields. Furthermore, the balloon observations will carry out very important tests and demonstrations of MIRAX hardware and software in a near space environment.

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