Overview of EXIST mission science and implementation

TL;DR

The EXIST mission aims to study the early universe, black hole growth, and transient astrophysical phenomena using wide-field X-ray imaging and rapid follow-up observations, providing new insights into cosmic evolution.

Contribution

This paper presents the science objectives and implementation plan for the EXIST mission, highlighting its novel approach to multiwavelength surveys and time domain astrophysics.

Findings

Design of a wide-field X-ray survey telescope

Potential to detect early universe black holes and gamma-ray bursts

Capability for rapid follow-up observations of transient events

Abstract

The Energetic X-ray Imaging Survey Telescope (EXIST) is designed to i) use the birth of stellar mass black holes, as revealed by cosmic Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), as probes of the very first stars and galaxies to exist in the Universe. Both their extreme luminosity (~104 times larger than the most luminous quasars) and their hard X-ray detectability over the full sky with wide-field imaging make them ideal "back-lights" to measure cosmic structure with X-ray, optical and near-IR (nIR) spectra over many sight lines to high redshift. The full-sky imaging detection and rapid followup narrow-field imaging and spectroscopy allow two additional primary science objectives: ii) novel surveys of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) accreting as very luminous but rare quasars, which can trace the birth and growth of the first SMBHs as well as quiescent SMBHs (non-accreting) which reveal their presence by X-ray flares from the tidal disruption of passing field stars; and iii) a multiwavelength Time Domain Astrophysics (TDA) survey to measure the temporal variability and physics of a wide range of objects, from birth to death of stars and from the thermal to non-thermal Universe. These science objectives are achieved with the telescopes and mission as proposed for EXIST described here.