Related papers: Relativistic Astrophysics Explorer
Observations made of the X-ray pulsar EXO 1722-363 using the Proportional Counter Array and All Sky Monitor on board the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer reveal the orbital period of this system to be 9.741 +/- 0.004 d from periodic changes in…
The Extreme Physics Explorer (EPE) is a concept timing/spectroscopy mission that would use micro-channel plate optics (MCPO) to provide 4 square meters effective area focused to ~1 arc-min onto an X-ray calorimeter. We describe science…
General relativity is one of the pillars of modern physics. For decades, the theory has been mainly tested in the weak field regime with experiments in the Solar System and radio observations of binary pulsars. Until 2015, the strong field…
X-ray polarimetry is still largely uncharted territory. With the upcoming launch of IXPE, we will learn a lot more about X-ray polarization at energies above 2 keV, but so far no current or accepted mission provides observational…
X-ray timing observations of accreting stellar mass black holes have shown that they can produce signals with such short time scales that we must be probing very close to the innermost stable circular orbit that is predicted by the theory…
The joint JAXA/NASA ASTRO-H mission is the sixth in a series of highly successful X-ray missions developed by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), with a planned launch in 2015. The ASTRO-H mission is equipped with a…
X-ray surveys are well suited to detect, identify and study young stars based on their high levels of magnetic activity and thus X-ray brightness. The eROSITA instrument onboard the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma (SRG) satellite will perform an…
A deep all-sky imaging hard x-ray survey and wide-field monitor is needed to extend soft (ROSAT) and medium (ABRIXAS2) x-ray surveys into the 10-100 keV band (and beyond) at comparable sensitivity (~0.05 mCrab). This would enable discovery…
We report on the long-term monitoring of three anomalous X-ray pulsars using the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). We present a phase-coherent timing ephemeris for 4U 0142+61, and show that it has rotated with high stability over 4.4 yr,…
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…
In this paper we present the current status of the enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry mission, which has been fully approved for launch in 2030. eXTP is a space science mission designed to study fundamental physics under extreme…
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…
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…
In this White Paper, we present the potential of the enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry (eXTP) mission to constrain the equation of state of dense matter in neutron stars, exploring regimes not directly accessible to terrestrial…
In X-ray binaries, rapid variability in X-ray flux of greater than an order of magnitude on time-scales of a day or less appears to be a signature of wind accretion from a supergiant companion. When the variability takes the form of rare,…
Current X-ray observations and simulations show that gravitational lensing can be used to infer the structure near the event horizons of black holes, constrain the dynamics and evolution of black-hole accretion and outflows, test general…
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…
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…
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…
Launched on December 9, 2021, the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) is the first imaging polarimeter ever flown, providing sensitivity in the 2--8 keV range, and during the 2-year initial phase of the mission will sample tens of…