First Light from CUBIC: the Diffuse X-ray Background

Session 8 - The X-Ray Background.
Display session, Monday, January 13
Metropolitan Ballroom,

[8.07] First Light from CUBIC: the Diffuse X-ray Background

C. E. Grant, D. N. Burrows, J. A. Nousek (Penn State U.)

Preliminary results of CUBIC observations of the diffuse X-ray background (DXRB) are presented. The Cosmic X-ray Background Instrument using CCDs (CUBIC), optimized for study of the DXRB, has moderate energy resolution combined with unprecedented sensitivity to energies from 0.2 - 10 keV. While the DXRB emission at 1/4 keV is believed to originate in a million degree low density gas within \sim 100 pc of the sun, the sources of the emission at 3/4 keV are not well understood. The lack of intensity variations perpendicular to the Galactic plane outside of the Loop I/North Polar Spur region cannot be adequately explained by a single galactic or extragalactic source. A set of observations will be made along \l = 240^o at different Galactic latitudes, allowing insight into both the spectral structure and the variation with latitude of various components of the DXRB. Four fields have been observed thus far at \l \sim 240^o, b \sim 37^o, 54^o, 72^o, and 82^o. Preliminary model fits to the spectra will be shown and discussed. The creation of the CUBIC response matrix from pre-flight calibration data will also be discussed.

If you would like more information about this abstract, please follow the link to www.astro.psu.edu/xray/cubic. This link was provided by the author. When you follow it, you will leave the the Web space for this meeting; to return, you should use the Back button on your browser.

The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: cgrant@astro.psu.edu

Program listing for Monday