Speaker
Description
The X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) aboard the upcoming NewAthena mission relies on precise pulse detection and reconstruction for high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy. In its current baseline configuration, the pulse detection algorithm employs a one-sided derivative kernel (typically [1, 1, -1, -1]) to enhance pulse edges, triggering on threshold crossings of the filtered signal. However, closely spaced or overlapping pulses—common in high-count-rate observations—pose challenges to this approach, leading to missed or misidentified events.
To mitigate these issues, we introduce a modification to the detection scheme: subtraction of the local mean of the signal derivative over a configurable moving window, optionally offset in time. This correction aims to account for the residual tails of preceding pulses.
We systematically evaluated the performance of this modified algorithm (Delayed Derivative Subtraction) using simulations of pulse pairs with varying energies and time separations representative of a realistic source observed by the X-IFU instrument. A parameter scan over window sizes and offsets was performed, and detection efficiency was quantified via the fraction of detected pulses across all simulated conditions.
This enhanced detection method is now implemented in the X-IFU reconstruction software SIRENA, offering improved robustness in complex pulse environments. This contribution presents the methodology, performance analysis, and implementation details, with implications for optimizing readout strategies in future X-ray missions.
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