Tools for simulations

Newathena mirror Requirement implementation

The NewAthena mirror requirements are implemented through the following mirror configuration:

• Mirror Assembly (MA) with 13 rows, 6 sectors, 492 mirror modules
• Membrane thickness 110 μm
• Active mirror apertures radius 245-1120 mm
• Mirror plate rib spacing (pitch) of 1.86 mm
• 10 nm of Pt coating on each individual module, plus 8 nm C (top) and 12.5 nm Cr overcoating (0.45 nm roughness) . The CrC layer thickness has been optimised to achieve the best possible area at low and high energies (unpublished study by Desiree della Monica Ferreira, DTU)
• +1/-1 wedging geometry

 The mirror geometry and the assumption underlying the performance estimated are described in the Telescope Reference Document (version 4.3 - 1 May 2026). Estimates of mirror peformance have been calculated by ESA (Ivo Ferreira and Alex McNamara). They have been based on realistic ray-trace experiments including all known loss effects. In addition, they do include provisional loss factors to account for expected losses such as misalignments, coating imperfections, contamination, etc. The simulations correspond to the simulated mission at beginning-of-life conditions.

NewAthena mirror peformance resources

• Mirror Effective Area On-Axis (version 30 April 2026, 1 eV energy resolution): CSV format
• Vignetting as a function of energy (0.2, 0.35, 1, 2, 4, 7, and 10 keV) and off-axis angle (0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 5.0, 7.0, 10.0, 15.0, 20.0, 28.0 arcminutes) (version 1 May 2026): CSV format (PNG plot)
• On-focus PSF (version 1 May 2026) images as a function of energy and off-axis angle: 0.2 keV (small angles/large angles), 0.5 keV (small angles/large angles), 1 keV (small angles/large angles) 2 keV (small angles/large angles), 4 keV (small angles/large angles), 7 keV (small angles/large angles), 10 keV (small angles/large angles), 12 keV (small angles/large angles). [In this context "small angles" means <7 arcminutes; "large angles" means" ≥7 arcminutes.] The PSF model is a 2-D distribution whose radial profile corresponds to a modified pseudo-Voigt distribution. The keywords PIXM[12] in the file header indicate the physical pixel size in meters; the keywords PIXAS[12]​​​​​​​ indicate the platescale (arcseconds per pixel). The data files (spreadsheets) describing the PSF profile and parameterization are available here (176 MBytes).
• On-axis 35-mm defocused PSF (version 10 March 2026) images as a function of energy (same specifications as the on-focuses PSF above): 0.2 keV, 0.35 keV, 1 keV, 2 keV, 4 keV, 7 keV, 10 keV, and 12 keV.

X-ray stray light

X-ray star light calculation are integrated in SIXTE to produce images directly usable for scientific simulations.