EXIST’s Gamma-Ray Burst Sensitivity
/ Authors
D. L. Band, D. L. Band, J. Grindlay, J. Hong, G. Fishman, Dieter H. Hartmann, A. Garson, H. Krawczynski, S. D. Barthelmy, N. Gehrels
and 2 more authors
/ Abstract
We use semianalytic techniques to evaluate the burst sensitivity of designs for the EXIST hard X-ray survey mission. Applying these techniques to the mission design proposed for the Beyond Einstein program, we find that with its very large field of view and faint gamma-ray burst detection threshold, EXIST will detect and localize approximately two bursts per day, a large fraction of which may be at high redshift. We estimate that EXIST’s maximum sensitivity will be ~4 times greater than that of Swift’s Burst Alert Telescope. Bursts will be localized to better than 40″ at threshold, with a burst position as good as a few arcseconds for strong bursts. EXIST’s combination of three different detector systems will provide spectra from 3 keV to more than 10 MeV. Thus, EXIST will enable a major leap in the understanding of bursts, their evolution, environment, and utility as cosmological probes.
Journal: The Astrophysical Journal
DOI: 10.1086/524883