Abstract Details

Name: Mithun N. P. S.
Affiliation: Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad
Conference ID: ASI2020_324
Title : X-ray Spectroscopy of the Sun with Chandrayaan-2 XSM: Initial Results and Prospects
Authors and Co-Authors : Mithun N. P. S. on behalf of XSM Team
Abstract Type : Oral
Abstract Category : Sun and the Solar System
Abstract : Solar X-ray Monitor (XSM) on-board Chandrayaan-2 provides measurement of X-ray spectrum of the Solar corona in the soft X-ray band of 1-15 keV with an unprecedented time cadence of one second and highest spectral resolution for a wide-band spectrometer. Such broad-band X-ray spectroscopic studies of the Sun complements the observations with the existing wide-band integrated X-ray imagers and narrow band high resolution spectrographs. After its initial commissioning phase, XSM has begun nominal operations. On-board spectral performance of XSM matches with the design specifications and ground calibration. The sensitivity limit of the instrument, determined by the background rate, is an order of magnitude below the flux level of A1 class flare, making it feasible to detect flares of low intensity that are not detected by other solar X-ray flux monitoring observatories. Energy budget and frequency of such low intensity flares can be compared with theoretical predictions required to explain the coronal heating. During larger flares, high time cadence spectroscopy allows investigation of the evolution of temperature and abundances in Corona as the flare progresses. Here we present the on-board performance of XSM, results from initial observations, and future prospects.