Related papers: X-ray astronomy in the new Millenium. A Summary
The past decade has seen a large progress in the X-ray investigation of early-type galaxies of the local universe, and first attempts have been made to reach redshifts z>0 for these objects, thanks to the high angular resolution and…
Observational astrophysics uses sophisticated technology to collect and measure electromagnetic and other radiation from beyond the Earth. Modern observatories produce large, complex datasets and extracting the maximum possible information…
Solar and heliospheric cosmic rays provide a unique perspective in cosmic ray research: we can observe not only the particles, but also the properties of the plasmas in which the they are accelerated and propagate, using in situ and…
The study of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) has changed dramatically over the last decade. In this review we first describe the most important observations of ULXs in various wavebands, and across multiple scales in space and time. We…
XMM-Newton has deeply changed our picture of X-ray emission of hot, massive stars. High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy as well as monitoring of these objects helped us gain a deeper insight into the physics of single massive stars with or…
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…
X-ray emission from cool stars is an important tracer for stellar activity. The X-ray luminosity reflects different levels of activity and covers four orders of magnitude in stars of spectral types M-F. Low spectral resolution provided by…
Gamma-ray bursts and ultra-high-energy cosmic rays provide an important testing ground for fundamental physics. A simple-minded analysis of some gamma-ray bursts would lead to a huge estimate of the overall energy emitted, and this…
Pulsar systems are very good experimental laboratories for the fundamental physics in extreme environments which cannot be achieved on ground. For example, the systems are under conditions of high magnetic field strength, large…
Magnetically active stars are the sites of efficient particle acceleration and plasma heating, processes that have been studied in detail in the solar corona. Investigation of such processes in young stellar objects is much more challenging…
X-ray emission is a common feature of all varieties of isolated neutron stars (INS) and, thanks to the advent of sensitive instruments with good spectroscopic, timing, and imaging capabilities, X-ray observations have become an essential…
The origin of cosmic rays is one of the major unresolved questions in astrophysics. In particular, the highest energy cosmic rays observed possess macroscopic energies and their origin is likely associated with the most energetic processes…
The stellar astronomy has always been considered the fundamental source of knowledge about the basic building blocks of the universe - the stars. It has proved correctness of many physical theories - like e.g. the idea of nuclear fusion in…
Recent international efforts have brought us closer to unveiling the century old mystery of the origin of cosmic rays. Cosmic ray, gamma ray, and neutrino observatories are reaching the necessary sensitivity to study the highest energy…
We propose to advance investigations of electromagnetic radiation originating in atomic nuclei beyond its current infancy to a true astronomy. This nuclear emission is independent from conditions of gas, thus complements more traditional…
In recent years, the outskirts of galaxy clusters have emerged as one of the new frontiers and unique laboratories for studying the growth of large scale structure in the universe. Modern cosmological hydrodynamical simulations make firm…
The advent of moderately high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy with Chandra and XMM promised to usher in a new age in the study of neutron stars: we thought we would study neutron stars like stars, with resolved absorption spectra revealing…
The dramatic confrontation between new observations and theories of the early and recent universe makes cosmology one of the most rapidly advancing fields in the physical sciences. The universe is a unique laboratory in which to probe…
Cosmological observations offer unique and robust avenues for probing the fundamental nature of dark matter particles-they broadly test a range of compelling theoretical scenarios, often surpassing or complementing the reach of terrestrial…
While astrophysical and cosmological probes provide a remarkably precise and consistent picture of the quantity and general properties of dark matter, its fundamental nature remains one of the most significant open questions in physics.…