XIMPOL: A new X-ray polarimetry observation-simulation and analysis framework

We present a new simulation framework, based on the python programming language and specifically developed for X-ray polarimetric applications, called XIMPOL. Starting from an arbitrary source model (including morphological, temporal, spectral and polarimetric informations), XIMPOL uses the response functions of the detector under study to produce fast and realistic observationsimulations. A Chandra-to-XIMPOL converter is also available within the framework, designed to convert a real Chandra observation into a XIMPOL simulation. The generated output files can be directly fed into the standard visualization and analysis tools, including XSPEC, which make XIMPOL a useful tool not only for simulating observations of astronomical sources, but also to develop and test end-to-end analysis chains.