Related papers: A fast X-ray timing capability on XEUS
The X-ray emission of neutron stars enables a probe of their temperatures, geometries, and magnetospheric properties. The current number of X-ray emitting pulsars is insufficient to rule out observational biases that may arise from poorly…
The extreme conditions found near black holes and neutron stars provide a unique opportunity for testing physical theories. Observations of both types of compact objects can be used to probe regions of strong gravity, allowing for tests of…
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…
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…
High-mass X-ray binary systems are powered by the stellar wind of their donor stars. The X-ray state of Cygnus X-1 is correlated with the properties of the wind which defines the environment of mass accretion. Chandra-HETGS observations…
Observations with NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) have resulted in the discovery of fast (200 - 600 Hz), coherent X-ray intensity oscillations (hereafter, "burst oscillations") during thermonuclear X-ray bursts from 12 low mass…
The broad energy response, low electronic read noise, and good energy resolution have made X-ray Charge-Coupled Devices (CCDs) an obvious choice for developing soft X-ray astronomical instruments over the last half century. They also come…
We have developed an algorithm that, starting from the observed properties of the X-ray spectrum and fast variability of an X-ray binary allows the production of synthetic data reproducing observables such as power density spectra and time…
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…
The Hubble Space Telescope has devoted 500 orbits to observing 250 massive stars with low metallicity in the ultraviolet (UV) range within the framework of the ULLYSES program. The X-Shooting ULLYSES (XShootU) project enhances the legacy…
The X-ray Timing and Polarization (XTP) is a mission concept for a future space borne X-ray observatory and is currently selected for early phase study. We present a new design of X-ray polarimeter based on the time projection gas chamber.…
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:…
Within the scientific goals of the THESEUS ESA/M5 candidate mission, a critical item is a fast (within a few s) and accurate (<15 arcmin) Gamma-Ray Burst and high-energy transient location from a few keV up to hard X-ray energy band. For…
Lens time delays are a powerful probe of cosmology, provided that the gravitational potential of the main deflector can be modeled with sufficient precision. Recent work has shown that this can be achieved by detailed modeling of the host…
Grazing incidence mirrors for X-ray astronomy are usually designed in the parabola-hyperbola (Wolter I) configuration. This design allows for optimal images on-axis, which however degrade rapidly with the off-axis angle. Mirror surfaces…
LOFT, the large observatory for X-ray timing, was selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) in February 2011 as one of four medium size mission concepts for the Cosmic Vision program that will compete for a launch opportunity in the early…
X-ray reflection spectra are an important component in the X-ray spectra of many active galactic nuclei and Galactic black hole candidates. It is likely that reflection takes place from highly ionized surfaces of the accretion disc in some…
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…
The sensitivity of astronomical X-ray detectors is limited by the instrumental background. The background is especially important when observing low surface brightness sources that are critical for many of the science cases targeted by…
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…