Related papers: Future X-ray timing missions
We report on long-term monitoring of the anomalous X-ray pulsar 1E 1048.1-5937 using the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. This pulsar's timing behavior is different from that of other AXPs. In particular, the pulsar shows significant deviations…
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…
Scheduled for launch in 2030, the enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarization (eXTP) telescope is a Chinese space-based mission aimed at studying extreme conditions and phenomena in astrophysics. eXTP will feature three main payloads:…
We present a mission designed for the study of transient phenomena in the high energy sky, through a wide field X-ray/hard X-ray monitor, and fast (< 1 min) follow up observations with Narrow Field Instrumentation. This is based on an X-ray…
We present timing analysis for a Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer observation of Cygnus X-1 in its hard/low state. This was the first RXTE observation of Cyg X-1 taken after it transited back to this state from its soft/high state. RXTE's large…
Accreting neutron stars (NSs) represent a unique laboratory for probing the physics of accretion in the presence of strong magnetic fields ($B\gtrsim 10^8$ G). Additionally, the matter inside the NS itself exists in an ultra-dense, cold…
The cosmological X-ray emission associated to the possible radiative decay of sterile neutrinos is composed by a collection of lines at different energies. For a given mass, each line corresponds to a given redshift. In this work, we cross…
Most violent and energetic processes in our universe, including mergers of compact objects, explosions of massive stars and extreme accretion events, produce copious amounts of X-rays. X-ray follow-up is an efficient tool for identifying…
Grazing-incidence X-ray optics have revolutionized X-ray astrophysics. The ability to concentrate flux to a tiny detection region provides a dramatic reduction in background and a consequent very large improvement in sensitivity. The X-ray…
Sixteen years of observations of black hole transients with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer, complemented by other X-ray observatories and ground-based optical/infrared/radio telescopes have given us a clear view of the complex…
In recent years there appeared a need for astronomical observations timed with sub-millisecond accuracy. These include e.g. timing stellar occultations by small, sub-km or fast Near Earth Asteroids, but also tracking artificial satellites…
I review the rotation measurements of accreting neutron stars. Many of the highly magnetic accreting X-ray pulsars have been continuously observed with the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) aboard the Compton Gamma-Ray…
GRAVITAS is an X-ray observatory, designed and optimised to address the ESA Cosmic Vision theme of "Matter under extreme conditions". It was submitted as a response to the call for M3 mission proposals. The concept centres around an X-ray…
We review the state of the art for measuring the X-ray polarization of neutron stars. We discuss how valuable precision measurements of the degree and position angle of polarization as a function of energy and, where relevant, of pulse…
X-ray burst spectra have long been used to estimate neutron star masses and radii. These estimates assumed that burst spectra are accurately described by the model atmosphere spectra developed over the last three decades. We compared RXTE…
The thesis is mainly devoted to the study of spectral and timing characteristics of the X-ray emission from Galactic black hole candidates GRS 1915+105, GX 339-4, 4U 1630-47, XTE J1748-288, GRS 1739-278, KS/GRS 1730-312 and GRS 1737-31. The…
Usually, positions of spacecraft on interplanetary or deep space missions are determined by radar tracking from ground stations, a method by which uncertainty increases with distance from Earth. As an alternative, a spacecraft equipped with…
LOFT (the Large Observatory for X-ray Timing), is a mission concept that was considered by ESA as a candidate for an M3 mission and has been studied during an extended >2-years long assessment phase. The mission was specifically designed to…
The Large Observatory for X-ray Timing (LOFT) is one of the four candidate ESA M3 missions considered for launch in the 2022 time-frame. It is specifically designed to perform fast X-ray timing and probe the status of the matter near black…
Some tests of fundamental physics - the equation of state at supra-nuclear densities, the metric in strong gravity, the effect of magnetic fields above the quantum critical value - can only be measured using compact astrophysical objects:…