The Cosmic X-ray Background explorer (CXBe)

Abstract

Synthesis models of the diffuse Cosmic X-ray Background (CXB) suggest that it can be resolved into discrete sources, primarily Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs). Measuring the CXB accurately offers a unique probe to study the AGN population in the nearby Universe. Current hard X-ray instruments suffer from the time-dependent background and cross-calibration issues. As a result, their measurements of the CXB normalization have an uncertainty of the order of ∼15%. We present the concept and simulated performances of a CXB detector, which could be operated on different platforms. With a 16-U CubeSat mission running for more than two years in space, such a detector could measure the CXB normalization with ∼1% uncertainty.

ICRC 2023 Rapporteur: Status of the Gamma-ray Astronomy field

“…This energy range (also sub-MeV) is where phenomena like the Cosmic X-ray Background (CXB) or Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are monitored. There were presentation of balloons like CXBe, the flexible X-ray detector focused on the CXB studies [1], POLAR-2, the next generation of GRB polarization detector that will be located in the Chinese Space Station (CSS) after the successful results of POLAR [2], the MoonBEAM cislunar SmallSat design [3] or XL-Calibur, a proposal for a balloon-borne X-ray polarimeter [4].…”