Related papers: Scientific Productivity with X-ray All-Sky Monitor…
Over the next decade, we can expect time domain astronomy to flourish at optical and radio wavelengths. In parallel with these efforts, a dedicated transient "machine" operating at higher energies (X-ray band through soft gamma-rays) is…
X-ray observatories contribute fundamental advances in Solar System studies by probing Sun-object interactions, developing planet and satellite surface composition maps, probing global magnetospheric dynamics, and tracking astrochemical…
Recent X-ray observations have had a major impact on topics ranging from protostars to cosmology. They have also drawn attention to important and general physical processes that currently limit our understanding of thermal and nonthermal…
The past decades have witnessed a lot of progress in gravitational lensing with two main targets: stars and galaxies (with active galactic nuclei). The success is partially attributed to the continuous luminescence of these sources making…
The time-variable electromagnetic sky has been well-explored at a wide range of wavelengths. Numerous high-energy space missions take advantage of the dark Gamma-ray and X-ray sky and utilize very wide field detectors to provide almost…
Contemporary astronomy benefits of very large and rapidly growing amounts of data in all bands of the electromagnetic spectrum, from long-wavelength radio waves to high energy gamma-rays. Astronomers normally specialize in data taken in one…
Multi-messenger astronomy provides for the observation of the same astronomical event with different kind of telescopes at the same time: optical observations, X-rays, gamma-ray bursts, neutrinos and, most recently, gravitational waves are…
X-ray observations of galaxies have grown from a curiosity into a full-fledged field of astronomy. These observations provide unique information on black holes, binary stars, and the hot phase of the ISM, which can be used to constrain the…
Observations of present and future X-ray telescopes include a large number of serendipidious sources of unknown types. They are a rich source of knowledge about X-ray dominated astronomical objects, their distribution, and their evolution.…
Measuring the brightness of the night sky has become an increasingly important topic in recent years, as artificial lights and their scattering by the Earths atmosphere continue spreading around the globe. Several instruments and techniques…
X-ray polarimetry promises to give qualitatively new information about high-energy sources. Examples of interesting source classes are binary black hole systems, rotation and accretion powered neutron stars, Microquasars, Active Galactic…
We present the science case for a broadband X-ray imager with high-resolution spectroscopy, including simulations of X-ray spectral diagnostics of both active regions and solar flares. This is part of a trilogy of white papers discussing…
Astronomy is by nature a visual science. The high quality imagery produced by the world's observatories can be a key to effectively engaging with the public and helping to inspire the next generation of scientists. Creating compelling…
Over the past decade, sky surveys such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey have proven the power of large data sets for answering fundamental astrophysical questions. This observational progress, based on a synergy of advances in telescope…
The RXTE All Sky Monitor provides a public database that includes more than one year of X-ray monitoring observations (2-12 keV) of X-ray binaries and a few active galactic nuclei. The instrument operates with a 40% duty cycle, and the…
Modern X-ray observatories yield unique insight into the astrophysical time domain. Each X-ray photon can be assigned an arrival time, an energy and a sky position, yielding sensitive, energy-dependent light curves and enabling…
We present a conceptual design for a new X-ray all sky monitor (ASM). Compared with previous ASMs, its salient features are: (1) it has a focusing capability that increases the signal to background ratio by a factor of 3; (2) it has a…
The Constellation X-ray Mission is a high throughput X-ray facility emphasizing observations at high spectral resolution (E/\Delta E \sim 300-3000), and broad energy bandpass (0.25-40 keV). Constellation-X will provide a factor of nearly…
An extensive theoretical literature predicts that X-ray Polarimetry can directly determine relevant physical and geometrical parameters of astrophysical sources, and discriminate between models further than allowed by spectral and timing…
A concept for an all-sky monitor mission substantially more powerful than the RXTE ASM is presented in brief. It makes use of 31 Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) proportional counters to provide continuous monitoring of the entire x-ray sky,…