Abstract

Contributed Talk - Plenary

SIXTE: Simulation Software for X-ray Instrument Development and Performance Studies

K. Pal, J. Stierhof, T. Dauser, M. Lorenz, L. Dauner, P. Thalhammer, C. Kirsch, E. Gulbahar, J. Wilms and many others
Remeis Observatory & ECAP, FAU Erlangen Nuremberg

X-ray observations are key to understanding some of the most extreme objects in the universe, such as black holes, neutron stars, and supernova remnants. Since Earth's atmosphere absorbs X-rays, we need space-based observatories to study them. These missions are costly, highly complex, and take many years from concept to launch. It is really important to understand their scientific capabilities well before their launch. Simulation tools play a crucial role in this process. They allow us to study and verify whether a mission's science goals can be achieved with a given design. The SImulation of X-ray TElescopes (SIXTE) is an end-to-end, mission-independent Monte Carlo simulation toolkit built exactly for this purpose. Its modular approach allows easy integration of different telescope and detector designs. This makes it a flexible and practical tool for instrument development and performance studies for both current and future X-ray missions. This talk will give a broad overview of SIXTE, starting with a brief introduction to X-ray telescopes and how they work. It will then cover how SIXTE uses its modular design to simulate X-ray sources with telescope and detector models. Finally, discuss examples of performance studies, such as understanding the observational limitations of future missions when observing bright X-ray sources.