StrayCats: A Catalog of NuSTAR Stray Light Observations

Grefenstette BW, Ludlam RM, Thompson ET, Garcia J, Hare J, Jaodand AD, Krivonos RA, Madsen KK, Mastroserio G, Slaughter CM, Tomsick JA, Wik D, Zoglauer A (2021)


Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2021

Journal

Book Volume: 909

Article Number: 30

Journal Issue: 1

DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/abe045

Abstract

We present StrayCats, a catalog of NuSTAR stray light observations of X-ray sources. Stray light observations arise for sources 1 -4 away from the telescope pointing direction. At this off-axis angle, X-rays pass through a gap between the optics and aperture stop and so do not interact with the X-ray optics; instead, they directly illuminate the NuSTAR focal plane. We have systematically identified and examined over 1400 potential observations resulting in a catalog of 436 telescope fields and 78 stray light sources that have been identified. The sources identified include historically known persistently bright X-ray sources, X-ray binaries in outburst, pulsars, and type I X-ray bursters. In this paper, we present an overview of the catalog, how we identified the StrayCats sources, and the analysis techniques required to produce high-level science products. Finally, we present a few brief examples of the science quality of these unique data.

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How to cite

APA:

Grefenstette, B.W., Ludlam, R.M., Thompson, E.T., Garcia, J., Hare, J., Jaodand, A.D.,... Zoglauer, A. (2021). StrayCats: A Catalog of NuSTAR Stray Light Observations. Astrophysical Journal, 909(1). https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/abe045

MLA:

Grefenstette, Brian W., et al. "StrayCats: A Catalog of NuSTAR Stray Light Observations." Astrophysical Journal 909.1 (2021).

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