0000000000451847
AUTHOR
Dhiren Kataria
GrailQuest: hunting for atoms of space and time hidden in the wrinkle of Space-Time: A swarm of nano/micro/small-satellites to probe the ultimate structure of Space-Time and to provide an all-sky monitor to study high-energy astrophysics phenomena
AbstractGrailQuest(Gamma Ray Astronomy International Laboratory for QUantum Exploration of Space-Time) is a mission concept based on a constellation (hundreds/thousands) of nano/micro/small-satellites in low (or near) Earth orbits. Each satellite hosts a non-collimated array of scintillator crystals coupled with Silicon Drift Detectors with broad energy band coverage (keV-MeV range) and excellent temporal resolution (≤ 100 nanoseconds) each with effective area$\sim 100 \text {cm}^{2}$∼100cm2. This simple and robust design allows for mass-production of the satellites of the fleet. This revolutionary approach implies a huge reduction of costs, flexibility in the segmented launching strategy, …
The Large Observatory For x-ray Timing
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 WideFi…