The Large Observatory For x-ray Timing

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arXiv:1408.6526·astro-ph.IM·September 1, 2014·2 cites

The Large Observatory For x-ray Timing

M. Feroci (1,1b), J.W. den Herder (2), E. Bozzo (3), D. Barret (8), S., Brandt (19), M. Hernanz (6), M. van der Klis (5), M. Pohl (25), A. Santangelo, (17), L. Stella (27), A. Watts (5), J. Wilms (87), S. Zane (29), M., Ahangarianabhari (14), C. Albertus (137), M. Alford (139)

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TL;DR

LOFT is a proposed space observatory designed to study matter under extreme conditions near black holes and neutron stars, featuring large effective area and high spectral resolution, with a focus on timing and spectral analysis.

Contribution

This paper details the status of the LOFT mission at the end of its Phase A study, highlighting its innovative instrumentation and scientific objectives.

Findings

01

LOFT's main instrument features 10 m² effective area and 2-30 keV spectral range.

02

The WideField Monitor has 4 steradian field of view and 300 eV spectral resolution.

03

LOFT participated in ESA's final selection for a launch slot in 2022-2024.

Abstract

The Large Observatory For x-ray Timing (LOFT) was studied within ESA M3 Cosmic Vision framework and participated in the final down-selection for a launch slot in 2022-2024. Thanks to the unprecedented combination of effective area and spectral resolution of its main instrument, LOFT will study the behaviour of matter under extreme conditions, such as the strong gravitational field in the innermost regions of accretion flows close to black holes and neutron stars, and the supra-nuclear densities in the interior of neutron stars. The science payload is based on a Large Area Detector (LAD, 10 m 2 effective area, 2-30 keV, 240 eV spectral resolution, 1 deg collimated field of view) and a WideField Monitor (WFM, 2-50 keV, 4 steradian field of view, 1 arcmin source location accuracy, 300 eV spectral resolution). The WFM is equipped with an on-board system for bright events (e.g. GRB)…

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Taxonomy

TopicsRadioactive Decay and Measurement Techniques · Medical Imaging Techniques and Applications · Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research