SIXTE -- The Generic X-ray Instrument Simulation Toolkit

Abstract

We give an overview of the SImulation of X-ray TElescopes (SIXTE) software package, a generic, mission-independent Monte Carlo simulation toolkit for X-ray astronomical instrumentation. The package is based on a modular approach for the source definition, the description of the optics, and the detector type such that new missions can be easily implemented. The targets to be simulated are stored in a flexible input format called SIMPUT. Based on this source definition, a sample of photons is produced and then propagated through the optics. In order to model the detection process, the software toolkit contains modules for various detector types, ranging from proportional counter and Si-based detectors, to more complex descriptions like transition edge sensor (TES) devices. The implementation of characteristic detector effects and a detailed modeling of the read-out process allow for representative simulations and therefore enable the analysis of characteristic features, such as for example pile-up, and their impact on observations. We present an overview of the implementation of SIXTE from the input source, the imaging, and the detection process, highlighting the modular approach taken by the SIXTE software package. In order to demonstrate the capabilities of the simulation software, we present a selection of representative applications, including the all-sky survey of eROSITA and a study of pile-up effects comparing the currently operating XMM-Newton with the planned Athena-WFI instrument. A simulation of a galaxy cluster with the Athena- X-IFU shows the capability of SIXTE to predict the expected performance of an observation for a complex source with a spatially varying spectrum and our current knowledge of the future instrument.

accepted for publication in A&A

References in corpus (26)

• HEALPix -- a Framework for High Resolution Discretization, and Fast Analysis of Data Distributed on the Sphere
• Collisional Plasma Models with APEC/APED: Emission Line Diagnostics of Hydrogen-like and Helium-like Ions
• The synthesis of the cosmic X-ray background in the Chandra and XMM-Newton era
• An Overview of the Performance and Scientific Results from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO)
• The Chandra Deep Field South: the 1 Million Second
• The Chandra Deep Field-South Survey: 4 Ms Source Catalogs
• Deep Extragalactic X-ray Surveys
• Representations of celestial coordinates in FITS
• eROSITA Science Book: Mapping the Structure of the Energetic Universe
• XMM-Newton observation of the Lockman Hole; I. The X-ray Data
• The XMM-Newton wide-field survey in the COSMOS field. The point-like X-ray source catalogue
• The Extended Chandra Deep Field-South Survey. Chandra Point-Source Catalogs
• The Chandra Deep Field-South Survey: 2 Ms Source Catalogs
• The Large Observatory for X-ray Timing (LOFT)
• Cool Core Clusters from Cosmological Simulations
• Representations of world coordinates in FITS
• The XMM-Newton wide-field survey in the COSMOS field II: X-ray data and the logN-logS
• The XMM Deep survey in the CDFS I. First results on heavily obscured AGN
• INTEGRAL hard X-ray spectra of the cosmic X-ray background and Galactic ridge emission
• The origin of ICM enrichment in the outskirts of present-day galaxy clusters from cosmological hydrodynamical simulations
• Measuring turbulence and gas motions in galaxy clusters via synthetic Athena X-IFU observations
• Synthetic simulations of the extragalactic sky seen by eROSITA. I. Pre-launch selection functions from Monte-Carlo simulations
• Ultra-deep catalog of X-ray groups in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South
• Athena X-IFU synthetic observations of galaxy clusters to probe the chemical enrichment of the Universe
• International X-ray Observatory (IXO) Assessment Study Report for the ESA Cosmic Vision 2015-2025
• Extragalactic Surveys: AGN physics and evolution

Cited by in corpus (61)

• The SRG/eROSITA all-sky survey: First X-ray catalogues and data release of the western Galactic hemisphere
• ixpeobssim: a Simulation and Analysis Framework for the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer
• The eROSITA Final Equatorial-Depth Survey (eFEDS): Catalog of galaxy clusters and groups
• The SRG/eROSITA all-sky survey: Cosmology constraints from cluster abundances in the western Galactic hemisphere
• The NewAthena mission concept in the context of the next decade of X-ray astronomy
• Simulating Groups and the IntraGroup Medium: The Surprisingly Complex and Rich Middle Ground Between Clusters and Galaxies
• The Athena space X-ray Observatory and the astrophysics of hot plasma
• The CAMELS project: public data release
• The eROSITA Final Equatorial Depth Survey (eFEDS): X-ray emission around star-forming and quiescent galaxies at $0.05<z<0.3$
• The eROSITA Final Equatorial-Depth Survey (eFEDS): X-ray Properties and Scaling Relations of Galaxy Clusters and Groups
• Full-sky photon simulation of clusters and active galactic nuclei in the soft X-rays for eROSITA
• Mock catalogs for the extragalactic X-ray sky: simulating AGN surveys with Athena and with the AXIS probe
• Detecting clusters of galaxies and active galactic nuclei in an eROSITA all-sky survey digital twin
• X-ray detection of a nova in the fireball phase
• EAGLE and Illustris-TNG predictions for resolved eROSITA X-ray observations of the circumgalactic medium around normal galaxies
• Deep Learning-Based Super-Resolution and De-Noising for XMM-Newton Images
• Establishing the X-ray Source Detection Strategy for eROSITA with Simulations
• AGN X-ray luminosity function and absorption function in the Early Universe ($3\le z\le 6$)
• The eROSITA Final Equatorial-Depth Survey (eFEDS): Presenting The Demographics of X-ray Emission From Normal Galaxies
• Constraining the origin and models of chemical enrichment in galaxy clusters using the Athena X-IFU
• Detecting Galaxy Groups and AGNs populating the local Universe in the eROSITA era
• SRG/eROSITA No. 5: Discovery of quasi-periodic eruptions every ~3.7 days from a galaxy at z>0.1
• PlatoSim: An end-to-end PLATO camera simulator for modelling high-precision space-based photometry
• Effects of Multiphase Gas and Projection on X-ray Observables in Simulated Galaxy Clusters as Seen by eROSITA
• High-redshift galaxy groups as seen by Athena/WFI
• Geminga's pulsar halo: an X-ray view
• Benchmarks and Explanations for Deep Learning Estimates of X-ray Galaxy Cluster Masses
• Absorption lines from magnetically driven winds in X-ray binaries II: high resolution observational signatures expected from future X-ray observatories
• Detecting clusters and groups of galaxies populating the local Universe in large optical spectroscopic surveys
• Comparison of simulated backgrounds with in-orbit observations for HE, ME and LE onboard Insight-HXMT
• The Next Generation X-ray Galaxy Survey with eROSITA
• Hydrostatic Mass Profiles of Galaxy Clusters in the eROSITA Survey
• Detection capabilities of the Athena X-IFU for the warm-hot intergalactic medium using gamma-ray burst X-ray afterglows
• Average X-ray properties of galaxy groups. From Milky Way-like halos to massive clusters
• The velocity structure of the intracluster medium during a major merger: simulated microcalorimeter observations
• Surveying the onset and evolution of supermassive black holes at high-z with AXIS
• The defocused observations of bright sources with Athena/X-IFU
• Radial X-ray profiles of simulated galaxies: Contributions from hot gas and XRBs
• The perils of stacking optically selected groups in eROSITA data. The Magneticum perspective
• Toward the low-scatter selection of X-ray clusters: Galaxy cluster detection with eROSITA through cluster outskirts
• The High Energy X-ray Probe (HEX-P): Studying Extreme Accretion with Ultraluminous X-ray Sources
• Dynamical properties and detectability of the magneto-thermal instability in the intracluster medium
• A Machine Learning Approach to Enhancing eROSITA Observations
• A Probabilistic Method of Background Removal for High Energy Astrophysics Data
• Bayesian insights in Tycho supernova remnant : a detailed mapping of ejecta properties
• Modelling the selection of galaxy groups with end to end simulations
• The eROSITA view on the halo mass-temperature relation: From low-mass groups to massive clusters
• The eROSITA extragalactic CalPV serendipitous catalog
• The STATiX pipeline for the detection of X-ray transients in three dimensions
• Argon X-ray absorption in the local ISM
• The eROSITA DR1 variability catalogue
• Toward mapping turbulence in the intracluster medium III. Constraints on the turbulent power spectrum with Athena/X-IFU
• Observing gravitational redshift with X-Ray emission in galaxy clusters with Athena X-IFU
• The Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit: a consolidated design for the system requirement review of the preliminary definition phase
• Exploring the connection between compact object mergers and fast X-ray transients: The cases of LXT 240402A and EP250207b
• Mapping Diffuse Emission in Lyman UV band
• Tidal disruption events as the origin of the eROSITA and Fermi bubbles
• Ultraluminous X-ray sources in the first eROSITA survey I. Candidate catalogs
• Future Detections of the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium using Bright Power Law Sources with NewAthena
• The SRG/eROSITA all-sky survey: The morphologies of clusters of galaxies: II. The intrinsic distributions of morphological parameters
• Predictions for the X-ray circumgalactic medium of edge-on discs and spheroids