The Athena space X-ray Observatory and the astrophysics of hot plasma

TL;DR

The Athena X-ray Observatory aims to advance understanding of hot plasma in space by providing high-resolution spectroscopy and imaging, building on previous missions like Chandra and XMM-Newton, with a planned launch in the early 2030s.

Contribution

This paper details the current status and scientific capabilities of Athena's instruments, highlighting its potential to revolutionize hot plasma astrophysics.

Findings

Athena's instruments will enable detailed studies of hot plasma properties.

The mission is poised to make breakthroughs similar to previous X-ray observatories.

Scheduled launch in the early 2030s enhances future astrophysics research.

Abstract

The properties (temperature, density, chemical composition, velocity) of hot astrophysical plasma and the physical processes affecting them (heating/cooling, turbulence, shocks, acceleration) can be probed by high resolution X-ray spectroscopy, to be complemented by high spatial resolution imaging. The paper presents a status of the ESA's Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics (Athena) mission, particularly focusing on the science performance of its two focal plane instruments for the studies of extended X-ray sources: the Wide Field Imager (WFI) and the X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU). This paper then provides a brief summary of the breakthroughs expected with Athena on the astrophysics of hot plasma, building on the vast heritage of the discoveries and revolutionary results obtained by Chandra and XMM-Newton in this field. As of November 12th, 2019, Athena successfully concluded its feasibility study, and has since then moved into the definition phase, with a launch date scheduled in the early 2030s.