Developing telescope mirrors in new way could sharpen our view of black holes, new stars

tech.hindustantimes.com:

Researchers have created a new method for fabricating the high-precision, ultrathin mirrors needed for high-performance x-ray telescopes using femtosecond laser pulses. The method might assist advance the capabilities of space-based x-ray telescopes that are used to observe high-energy cosmic phenomena like the formation of supermassive black holes and new stars.

"Detecting cosmic x-rays is a crucial piece of our exploration of the universe that unveils the high-energy events that permeate our universe but are not observable in other wavebands," said research team leader Heng Zuo, who performed the research at MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research and is now at the University of New Mexico. "The technologies our group developed will help telescopes obtain sharp images of astronomical x-rays that can answer many intriguing science questions."

Thousands of thin mirrors make up the X-ray telescopes, which orbit above the Earth's atmosphere. Each mirror in an X-ray telescope must be properly curved and positioned in relation to the others. The researchers detail how they employed femtosecond laser micromachining to bend these ultrathin mirrors into a precise shape and fix mistakes that can occur during the fabrication process in Optica, Optica Publishing Group's publication for high-impact research.

"It is difficult to make ultra-thin mirrors with an exact shape because the fabrication process tends to severely bend the thin material," said Zuo. "Also, telescope mirrors are usually coated to increase reflectivity, and these coatings typically deform the mirrors further. Our techniques can address both challenges."

Precision bending

As new mission concepts continue to push the boundaries of x-ray