A specimen containing nanograms of sulfur, calcium, and 3d transition metal elements was measured by incident X-ray beams of various sizes restricted by a waveguide placed in a portable TXRF spectrometer. The signal to background ratios of spectra decreased with an increase in incident X-ray beam size. The portable spectrometer was also applied to rainwater and a specimen containing antimony an...

Strong characteristic Kα X-ray lines are accompanied by weak lines due to the radiative Auger effect (RAE) [1, 2]. The characteristic Kα fluorescent X-rays (K-L2,3 lines) are emitted by the 2p→1s electric dipole transition after one of the 1s electron photoionization, Though the probability is less than 0.01, one of the 2p electrons is excited into an unoccupied discrete or continuum level simu...

We present a study of the X-ray coronal emission from the active binary VY Ari, using data from both the Low Energy Concentrator Spectrometer (LECS) and the Medium Energy Concentrator Spectrometer (MECS) instruments onboard the X-ray satellite BeppoSAX. Using these instruments, the X-ray spectrum of VY Ari can be studied across two full decades of energy, from 0.1 to 10 keV. The spectrum is wel...

Here we present a next-generation experimental setup for high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy of solid and liquid samples in the soft X-ray region to elucidate the complex molecular structures of (bio)chemical systems. The setup consists of a main target chamber, a target holder for either solid samples or a liquid jet delivery system, and a high-resolution soft Xray grating spectrometer. This se...

To illustrate the spatial resolution of measurements of Mercury’s surface elemental composition by the Gamma-Ray Spectrometer on the MESSENGER spacecraft after one year of orbital observations, we have simulated a global coverage map of the 846-keV iron gamma-ray count rate. The simulated map suggests that distinct geologic units larger than 800 km in horizontal dimension will be discernable wh...

A novel wavelength dispersive soft X-ray emission spectrometer (WD-SXES) has been developed. It covers nominally the X-ray energy range between 50 and 210 eV [1, 2]. One of the characteristic features of the WD-SXES is parallel detection of the signal so that it can be used like a conventional energy dispersive spectrometer. One other feature is a high energy resolution, which is about 0.2 eV. ...

We present some early results on AGN from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, highlighting high resolution spectroscopy using the High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (HETGS). The quasar PKS 0637–752 was found to have a very bright X-ray jet whose shape is remarkably similar to that of the radio jet on a size scale of 100 kpc, but the X-ray emission is still inexplicably bright. Two BL Lac ...