POINT SPREAD FUNCTION OF THE SOFT X-RAY TELESCOPE ABOARD YOHKOH

Pre-launch calibration data have been analyzed for evaluating the point spread function (PSF) of Yohkoh Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT). Especially, it is found crucial that the effect of undersampling should be treated properly. The best fit solution of the SXT PSF, which is modeled by an elliptical Moffat function, has been derived by the comparison with the ground experiment data. In order to examine the off-axis variation of the SXT PSF, we need to define in advance the location of the optical axis on the CCD. According to the previous studies, the off-axis variation of effective area (the vignetting function) may be approximated either by two non-concentric cones or by a cone with some flat distortions. There have been, however, no fully approved representations for the SXT vignetting effect. The effect of the shift of the optical axis from the geometrical center of the telescope is investigated by numerical simulation. It is revealed from our study that the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the SXT PSF stays nearly constant within an error bound over the central area of the CCD where the solar disk is located.