XMM-Newton Publications from 2000-2024

TL;DR

This study analyzes the usage, publication patterns, and community engagement related to ESA's XMM-Newton mission data from 2000 to 2024, highlighting sustained scientific productivity and a dedicated research community.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of publication trends, community engagement, and data reuse patterns for XMM-Newton over 24 years, revealing a stable and active scientific community.

Findings

87% of available data used in publications

Stable publication rate of ~400 articles/year

Approximately 120 core scientists actively publish

Abstract

Novel studies are presented demonstrating that the data of ESA's XMM-Newton mission are efficiently used by an engaged and productive community. 87% of the available time budget during the reference period 2000-2024 of 556Ms was used in at least one of 8486 publications (84% of 16894 observations) with a re-use of a factor up to 15 in dedicated publications. The duration between observations and first publication peaks around 2 years with a second peak at 3 years. The publication rate remains stable at ~400 refereed articles per year. Since 2010, the annual number of first-time as well as last-time authors has remained constant at ~100 authors per year yielding ~4300 scientists engaged in research utilising XMM-Newton data including 570 lead (first) authors. We find 51% of first authors to have published for one year, 24% were active for up to six years, and 25% are permanently active yielding a core community of ~120 scientists. The considerable number of time-limited activities may indicate a high level of utilisation within the context of university education. All studied trends indicate a vital community with positive perspectives to continue their active interest in XMM-Newton for the future.