Related papers: X-Ray Optics for Astrophysics: a historical review
We briefly discuss the history of X-ray polarimetry for astronomical applications including a guide to the appropriate statistics. We also provide an introduction to some of the new techniques discussed in more detail elsewhere in these…
The last half-century has seen dramatic developments in gamma-ray telescopes, from their initial conception and development through to their blossoming into full maturity as a potent research tool in astronomy. Gamma-ray telescopes are…
X-rays provide one of the few bands through which we can study the epoch of reionization, when the first galaxies, black holes and stars were born. To reach the sensitivity required to image these first discrete objects in the universe…
Polarimetry remains a largely unexploited technique in observational X-ray astronomy which could provide insight in the study of the strong gravity and magnetic fields at the core of the Constellation-X observational program. Adding a…
Improving angular resolution is one of X-ray astronomy's big challenges. While X-ray interferometry should eventually vastly improve broad-band angular resolution, in the near-term, X-ray telescopes will sacrifice angular resolution for…
Polarimetry is widely considered a powerful observational technique in X-ray astronomy, useful to enhance our understanding of the emission mechanisms, geometry and magnetic field arrangement of many compact objects. However, the lack of…
X-ray astronomy is a mature area of observational astronomy. After the discovery of the first non-solar X-ray source in 1962, X-ray astronomy proliferated during the Apollo era's space race. Then, it matured as an established area 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…
X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) are renowned for their high brightness, significantly impacting biology, chemistry, and nonlinear X-ray optics. However, current XFELs are large, expensive, and exhibit significant shot-to-shot…
The great success of the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) has given us a new probe to study strong gravitational fields and to measure the physical properties of black holes and neutron stars. Here, we describe a "next-generation" x-ray…
Fabrication of X-ray gratings has surged in the last two decades thanks to their vast employment in X-ray Phase Contrast Imaging, an imaging technique able to boost X-ray sensitivity to detect otherwise invisible details. These high aspect…
Since its emergence two decades ago, astrophotonics has found broad application in scientific instruments at many institutions worldwide. The case for astrophotonics becomes more compelling as telescopes push for AO-assisted,…
In the recent years, the discovery of a new class of Galactic transients with fast and bright flaring X-ray activity, the Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients, has completely changed our view and comprehension of massive X-ray binaries. These…
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…
Strong optical laser fields modify the way x rays interact with matter. This allows us to use x rays to gain deeper insight into strong-field processes. Alternatively, optical lasers may be utilized to control the propagation of x rays…
Optical fibres have already played a huge part in ground based astronomical instrumentation, however, with the revolution in photonics currently taking place new fibre technologies and integrated optical devices are likely to have a…
Since their first discovery in the late 1960s, Gamma-ray bursts have attracted an exponentially growing interest from the international community due to their central role in the most highly debated open questions of the modern research of…
While it may seem counterintuitive that X-ray astronomy should give any insights into low-temperature planetary systems, planets orbit stars whose magnetized surfaces divert a small fraction of the stellar energy into high energy products:…
X-ray Astrophysics, which addresses extreme physics in extreme conditions, is particularly well suited for answering questions related to known physics. Reversely tiny effects, but integrated along sidereal distances, allow to probe…
The Astrophysics of microquasars - galactic miniatures of the far distant quasars - has become one of the most active fields of modern Astronomy in recent years. Here I review the astronomical methods used for the investigation of these…