EXIST'S Gamma-Ray Burst Sensitivity

Authors

D. L. Band, CRESSTand Astroparticle Physics Laboratory & Center for Space Sciences and Technology, University of Maryland
J. E. Grindlay, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
A. Garson III, Washington University
H. Krawczynski, Washington University
Dieter H. Hartmann, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson UniversityFollow
S. Barthemy, Astroparticle Physics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
N. Gehrels, Astroparticle Physics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
G. Skinner, CRESSTand Astroparticle Physics Laboratory & Astroparticle Physics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Winter 2-1-2008

Publication Title

The Astrophysical Journal

Volume

673

Publisher

The American Astronomical Society

Abstract

We use semianalytic techniques to evaluate the burst sensitivity of designs for the EXIST hard X-ray survey mis-sion. 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 thresh-old, with a burst position as good asa few arcsecondsfor 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 understand-ing of bursts, their evolution, environment, and utility as cosmological probes.

Comments

This manuscript has been published in the Astrophysical Journal. Please find the published version here (note that a subscription is necessary to access this version):

http://iopscience.iop.org/0004-637X/673/2/1225/fulltext/

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