PyXLA: Python x-ray-tracing for Lobster-Eye application

Collimation of x-rays is challenging, especially for a wide range of grazing-incidence angles. One of the promising x-ray optics can be a wide-field Lobster-Eye (LE) optics in Schmidt’s arrangement, which raised interest in recent years, and will be considered for simulations and description and is perspective for space missions. This paper introduces a newly developed simulator, PyXLA, written in Python and which evaluates and simulates specific types of x-ray reflective optics, particularly LE optics. The software utilises fundamental ray-tracing principles and, in combination with design, can determine the particular design’s behaviour. The design relies on the mirrors’ arrangements, surface finishing and reflectivity, and the x-ray detector, which catches the rays. This paper describes the newly developed PyXLA software, showing simulator principles and examples of outputs with a discussion of the applicability of results and other future extensions.