Athena+: The first Deep Universe X-ray Observatory

TL;DR

Athena+ is a proposed advanced X-ray observatory set to launch in 2028, designed to explore cosmic matter assembly and black hole growth with unprecedented capabilities, impacting a wide range of astrophysical research.

Contribution

This paper introduces Athena+ as the first deep universe X-ray observatory with transformational capabilities, detailing its science goals, requirements, and implementation plan.

Findings

Designed to answer key astrophysical questions about matter and black holes.

Will be the most powerful X-ray observatory ever flown.

Aims to serve a broad range of astrophysical research.

Abstract

The Advanced Telescope for High-energy Astrophysics (Athena+) is being proposed to ESA as the L2 mission (for a launch in 2028) and is specifically designed to answer two of the most pressing questions for astrophysics in the forthcoming decade: How did ordinary matter assemble into the large scale structures we see today? and how do black holes grow and shape the Universe? For addressing these two issues, Athena+ will provide transformational capabilities in terms of angular resolution, effective area, spectral resolution, grasp, that will make it the most powerful X-ray observatory ever flown. Such an observatory, when opened to the astronomical community, will be used for virtually all classes of astrophysical objects, from high-z gamma-ray bursts to the closest planets in our solar neighborhood. In this paper, we briefly review the core science objectives of Athena+, present the science requirements and the foreseen implementation of the mission, and illustrate its transformational capabilities compared to existing facilities.