Neutron star observations with WFXT

TL;DR

The WFXT mission, primarily designed for extragalactic surveys, can also significantly advance neutron star research due to its wide field of view and high sensitivity in the soft X-ray band.

Contribution

This paper demonstrates the potential of the WFXT mission to contribute valuable data and insights into neutron star studies, expanding its scientific scope.

Findings

WFXT's large effective area enhances neutron star observations.

High angular resolution allows detailed neutron star imaging.

Survey capabilities enable population studies of neutron stars.

Abstract

The Wide-Field X-ray Telescope (WFXT) is a proposed NASA mission dedicated to performing surveys of the sky in the soft X-ray band (0.3-6 keV). The key characteristics of this missions are a constant point spread function with Half Energy Width of ~5 arcsec over a ~1 degree field of view as well as an effective area ~10 times larger than the one of Chandra. Despite the fact that the mission is tailored for extragalactic purposes, we show here that extremely interesting results can also be obtained on the study of neutron stars.