arXiv subjects

Karine Mercier

Publications and source records attributed to Karine Mercier.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

The IRT Telescope on board the THESEUS mission

We present the Infra-Red Telescope (IRT), which is part of the payload of the THESEUS mission, one on the three phase A candidate missions for the M7 slot of ESA (launch date 2037). The IRT is a 0.7 m class telescope with an off-axis Korsch optical design, with imaging capabilities in the 0.7-1.8 microns range over a 15 x 15 arc min field of view. The IRT also provides slit-less low resolution spectroscopy (R~400) over a limited field of view of 2 x 2 arc min, in the 0.8-1.6 microns range. The goal of the IRT is to identify the near infrared counterparts to the Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) detected by the two other telescopes on board THESEUS (the XGIS and the SXI), and to measure on board its photometric redshift in near real-time. The position and the redshift will be transmitted immediately to ground to allow for deeper follow-up by the large telescopes (ELT, VLT, ...). If the source is bright enough, spectroscopy will be performed to characterize the GRB environment.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2026

Design and in-orbit calibration of the MXT optics

The Microchannel X-ray Telescope (MXT) is one of four instruments on the Space-based multi-band astronomical Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM) satellite mission, launched on the 22nd June 2024. The MXT is a narrow-field-optimised, lobster eye X-ray focusing telescope, consisting of an array of 25 square MPOs, with a focal length of 1.14 m and working in the energy band 0.2 - 10 keV. The design of the MXT optic (MOP) is optimised to give a 1 degree FoV to match the detector size, but the optic has the unique characteristics of a lobster eye design, with a wide FoV of 6 degree diameter, and a PSF, which is constant over the entire FoV. The MPOs on the Flight Module (FM) MOP have a pore size of 40 um giving the optimum thicknesses across the aperture of 2.4 mm in the centre and 1.2 mm at the edges. Using specific target sources, the in-orbit calibration of the optic is here described, and compared to the extensive on-ground calibration, which was carried out at the PANTER test facility, MPE, Germany. The design and limitations of the electron diverter, situated directly behind the optic, are also discussed.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2015

The ECLAIRs GRB-trigger telescope on-board the future mission SVOM

The Space-based multi-band astronomical Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM) is an approved satellite mission for Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) studies, developed in cooperation between the Chinese National Space Agency (CNSA), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the French Space Agency (CNES) and French laboratories. SVOM entered Phase B in 2014 and is scheduled for launch in 2021. SVOM will provide fast and accurate GRB localizations, and determine the temporal and spectral properties of the GRB emission, thanks to a set of 4 on-board instruments. The trigger system of the coded-mask telescope ECLAIRs images the sky in the 4-120 keV energy range, in order to detect and localize GRBs in its 2 sr-wide field of view. The low-energy threshold of ECLAIRs is well suited for the detection of highly redshifted GRB. The high-energy coverage is extended up to 5 MeV thanks to the non-imaging gamma-ray spectrometer GRM. GRB alerts are sent in real-time to the ground observers community, and a spacecraft slew is performed in order to place the GRB within the field of view of the soft X-ray telescope MXT and the visible-band telescope VT, to refine the GRB position and study its early afterglow. The ground-based robotic telescopes GFTs and the wide angle cameras GWAC complement the on-board instruments. In this paper we present the ECLAIRs soft gamma-ray imager which will provide the GRB triggers on-board SVOM.

astro-ph.IM↗