Soft X-ray in-flight calibration of the ROSAT PSPC*
Institut für Astrophysik, Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany e-mail: beuermann@astro.physik.uni-goettingen.de
Received:
25
January
2008
Accepted:
6
February
2008
Aims. We present an in-flight calibration of the ROSAT PSPC using the incident spectra of the hot white dwarf HZ43 and the polar AM Her.
Methods. We derive an absolute flux calibration of the PSPC using the accurately known soft X-ray spectrum of HZ43. Corrections to the PSPC response matrix are derived from a comparison of predicted and observed PSPC spectra of HZ43, supplemented by results for AM Her.
Results. The calibration of the PSPC for photon energies 
keV is found
to be accurate to better than 5% refuting earlier reports of a major
miscalibration. Our corrections to the detector response matrices
remove systematic residuals in the pulse height spectra of soft
sources.
Key words: methods: data analysis / stars: individual: HZ43 / stars: individual: AM Her / X-rays: stars
© ESO, 2008