Related papers: The Advanced X-ray Timing Array (AXTAR)
A novel method and experimental configuration are proposed that allow the collection of high-quality X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) data in transmission mode on a standard laboratory diffractometer. This configuration makes use of…
One of the challenges of X-ray astronomy is how to both collect large numbers of photons yet attain high angular resolution. Because X-ray telescopes utilize grazing optics, to collect more photons requires a larger acceptance angle which…
HEX-P is a probe-class mission concept that will combine high spatial resolution X-ray imaging ($<10"$ FWHM) and broad spectral coverage (0.2-80 keV) with an effective area far superior to current facilities' (including XMM-Newton and…
Within 40 years of the detection of the first extrasolar X-ray source in 1962,NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has achieved an increase in sensitivity of 10 orders of magnitude, comparable to the gain in going from naked-eye observations to…
The soft X-ray band hosts a larger, more diverse range of variable sources than any other region of the electromagnetic spectrum. They are stars, compact binaries, SMBH's, the X-ray components of Gamma-Ray Bursts, their X-ray afterglows,…
A deep all-sky imaging hard x-ray survey and wide-field monitor is needed to extend soft (ROSAT) and medium (ABRIXAS2) x-ray surveys into the 10-100 keV band (and beyond) at comparable sensitivity (~0.05 mCrab). This would enable discovery…
Modern soft X-ray observatories can yield unique insights into time domain astrophysics, and a huge amount of information is stored - and largely unexploited - in data archives. Like a treasure-hunt, the EXTraS project harvested the…
The Large Observatory For X-ray Timing, LOFT, was selected by the European Space Agency as one of the four Cosmic Vision M3 candidate missions to compete for a launch opportunity at the start of the 2020s. Thanks to an innovative design and…
Temporal variability in flux and spectral shape is ubiquitous in the X-ray sky and carries crucial information about the nature and emission physics of the sources. The EPIC instrument on board the XMM-Newton observatory is the most…
We present the novel capabilities of the enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry (eXTP) mission to study the strong gravity region around stellar-mass black holes in X-ray binary systems and supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei.…
X-ray polarimetry promises to give qualitatively new information about high-energy astrophysical sources, such as binary black hole systems, micro-quasars, active galactic nuclei, and gamma-ray bursts. We designed, built and tested a hard…
A primary aim of the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) mission is to find and characterize heavily obscured Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs). Based on mid-infrared photometry from the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and…
Observations of Galactic black hole sources are traditionally done in the classical X-ray range (2 -- 10 keV) due to sensitivity constraints. Most of the accretion power, however, is radiated above 10 keV and the study of these sources in…
X-ray scattering has been an indispensable tool in advancing our understanding of matter, from the first evidence of the crystal lattice to recent discoveries of nuclei's fastest dynamics. In addition to the lattice, ultrafast resonant…
The CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) searches for solar axions employing a 9 Tesla superconducting dipole magnet equipped with 3 independent detection systems for X-rays from axion-photon conversions inside the 10 m long magnetic field.…
Pulsar timing uses the highly stable pulsar spin period to investigate many astrophysical topics. In particular, pulsar timing arrays make use of a set of extremely well-timed pulsars and their time correlations as a challenging detector of…
The X-ray observatories XMM-Newton and Chandra provided a wealth of exciting new results. Chandra delivered X-ray images of outstanding detail, reaching subarcsecond spatial resolution for the first time in X-ray astronomy. XMM-Newton…
SuperAGILE is the X-ray stage of the AGILE gamma-ray mission. It is devoted to monitor X-ray (10-40 keV) sources with a sensitivity better than 10 mCrabs in 50 ks and to detect X-ray transients in a field of view of 1.8 sr, well matched to…
The low luminosity, X-ray flaring activity, of the sub-class of high mass X-ray binaries called Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients, has been investigated using XMM-Newton public observations, taking advantage of the products made publicly…
The fluctuating brightness of cosmic X-ray sources, particularly accreting black holes and neutron star systems, has enabled enormous progress in understanding the physics of turbulent accretion flows, the behaviour of matter on the…