LECX: a cubesat experiment to detect and localize cosmic explosions in hard X rays. (arXiv:2001.08278v1 [astro-ph.IM])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Braga_J/0/1/0/all/0/1">J. Braga</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Durao_O/0/1/0/all/0/1">O.S.C. Durao</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Castro_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">M. Castro</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+DAmico_F/0/1/0/all/0/1">F. D'Amico</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Stecchini_P/0/1/0/all/0/1">Pe.E. Stecchini</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Amirabile_S/0/1/0/all/0/1">S. Amirabile</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Blanco_F/0/1/0/all/0/1">F. Gonzalez Blanco</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Strauss_C/0/1/0/all/0/1">C. Strauss</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Silva_W/0/1/0/all/0/1">W. Silva</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Schad_V/0/1/0/all/0/1">V. R. Schad</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Reitano_L/0/1/0/all/0/1">L. A. Reitano</a>
With the advent of the nanosat/cubesat revolution, new opportunities have
appeared to develop and launch small ($sim$ts 1000 cm$^3$), low-cost
($sim$ts US$ 1M) experiments in space in very short timeframes ($sim$ 2ts
years). In the field of high-energy astrophysics, in particular, it is a
considerable challenge to design instruments with compelling science and
competitive capabilities that can fit in very small satellite buses such as a
cubesat platform, and operate them with very limited resources. Here we
describe a hard X-ray (30–200ts keV) experiment, LECX (“Localizador de
Explos~oes C’osmicas de Raios X” — Locator of X-Ray Cosmic Explosions), that
is capable of detecting and localizing within a few degrees events like
Gamma-Ray Bursts and other explosive phenomena in a 2U-cubesat platform, at a
rate of $sim${bf 5 events year$^{-1}$.} In the current gravitational wave era
of astronomy, a constellation or swarm of small spacecraft carrying instruments
such as LECX can be a very cost-effective way to search for electromagnetic
counterparts of gravitational wave events produced by the coalescence of
compact objects.
With the advent of the nanosat/cubesat revolution, new opportunities have
appeared to develop and launch small ($sim$ts 1000 cm$^3$), low-cost
($sim$ts US$ 1M) experiments in space in very short timeframes ($sim$ 2ts
years). In the field of high-energy astrophysics, in particular, it is a
considerable challenge to design instruments with compelling science and
competitive capabilities that can fit in very small satellite buses such as a
cubesat platform, and operate them with very limited resources. Here we
describe a hard X-ray (30–200ts keV) experiment, LECX (“Localizador de
Explos~oes C’osmicas de Raios X” — Locator of X-Ray Cosmic Explosions), that
is capable of detecting and localizing within a few degrees events like
Gamma-Ray Bursts and other explosive phenomena in a 2U-cubesat platform, at a
rate of $sim${bf 5 events year$^{-1}$.} In the current gravitational wave era
of astronomy, a constellation or swarm of small spacecraft carrying instruments
such as LECX can be a very cost-effective way to search for electromagnetic
counterparts of gravitational wave events produced by the coalescence of
compact objects.
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