The Large Observatory for X-ray Timing (LOFT)

6533b7dcfe1ef96bd1273550

RESEARCH PRODUCT

The Large Observatory for X-ray Timing (LOFT)

M. Feroci L. Stella M. Klis T. J. -L Courvoisier M. Hernanz R. Hudec A. Santangelo D. Walton A. Zdziarski D. Barret T. Belloni José Braga S. Brandt C. Budtz-jørgensen S. Campana J. -W Den Herder J. Huovelin G. L. Israel M. Pohl P. Ray A. Vacchi S. Zane A. Argan Primo Attinà G. Bertuccio E. Bozzo R. Campana D. Chakrabarty E. Costa A. Rosa E. Del Monte S. Di Cosimo I. Donnarumma Y. Evangelista D. Haas P. Jonker S. Korpela C. Labanti P. Malcovati R. Mignani F. Muleri M. Rapisarda A. Rashevsky N. Rea A. Rubini C. Tenzer C. Wilson-hodge B. Winter K. Wood G. Zampa N. Zampa M. A. Abramowicz M. A. Alpar D. Altamirano J. M. Alvarez L. Amati C. Amoros L. A. Antonelli R. Artigue P. Azzarello M. Bachetti G. Baldazzi M. Barbera C. Barbieri S. Basa A. Baykal R. Belmont L. Boirin V. Bonvicini L. Burderi M. Bursa C. Cabanac E. Cackett G. A. Caliandro P. Casella S. Chaty J. Chenevez M. J. Coe A. Collura A. Corongiu S. Covino G. Cusumano Frank D Amico S. Dall Osso D. Martino G. Paris G. Di Persio T. Di Salvo C. Done M. Dovčiak A. Drago U. Ertan S. Fabiani M. Falanga R. Fender P. Ferrando D. Della Monica Ferreira G. Fraser F. Frontera F. Fuschino J. L. Galvez P. Gandhi P. Giommi O. Godet E. GöǧüşA. Goldwurm D. Götz M. Grassi P. Guttridge P. Hakala G. Henri W. Hermsen J. Horak A. Hornstrup J. J. M. In T Zand J. Isern E. Kalemci G. Kanbach V. Karas D. Kataria T. Kennedy D. Klochkov W. Kluźniak K. Kokkotas I. Kreykenbohm J. Krolik L. Kuiper I. Kuvvetli N. Kylafis J. M. Lattimer F. Lazzarotto D. Leahy F. Lebrun D. Lin N. Lund T. Maccarone J. Malzac M. Marisaldi A. Martindale M. Mastropietro J. Mcclintock I. Mchardy M. Mendez S. Mereghetti M. C. Miller T. Mineo E. Morelli S. Morsink C. Motch S. Motta T. Muñoz-darias G. Naletto V. Neustroev J. Nevalainen J. F. Olive M. Orio M. Orlandini P. Orleanski F. Ozel L. Pacciani S. Paltani I. Papadakis A. Papitto A. Patruno A. Pellizzoni V. Petráček J. Petri P. O. Petrucci B. Phlips L. Picolli A. Possenti D. Psaltis D. Rambaud P. Reig R. Remillard J. Rodriguez P. Romano M. Romanova T. Schanz C. Schmid A. Segreto A. Shearer A. Smith P. J. Smith P. Soffitta N. Stergioulas M. Stolarski Z. Stuchlik A. Tiengo D. Torres G. Török R. Turolla P. Uttley S. Vaughan S. Vercellone R. Waters A. Watts R. Wawrzaszek N. Webb J. Wilms L. Zampieri A. Zezas J. Ziolkowski

subject

Event horizon X-ray timing Mission 7. Clean energy 01 natural sciences neutron stars T175 Industrial research. Research and development BINARIES Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica ALICE SILICON DRIFT DETECTOR Observatory EQUATION neutron star 010303 astronomy & astrophysics High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)Physics [SDU.ASTR.HE]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena [astro-ph.HE]Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics Missions X-ray timing compact objects black holes neutron stars compact objects Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena PROPORTIONAL COUNTER [PHYS.ASTR.HE]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena [astro-ph.HE]Active galactic nucleus Cosmic Vision X-ray astronomy; high time variability Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena black holes; compact objects; Missions; neutron stars; X-ray timing;FOS: Physical sciences Missions X-ray astronomy 0103 physical sciences OSCILLATIONS Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)Supermassive black hole high time variability 010308 nuclear & particles physics Astronomy CONSTRAINTS Astronomy and Astrophysics black holes Galaxy Black hole Neutron star Space and Planetary Science QB460-466 Astrophysics DISCOVERY BLACK-HOLE SUPERAGILE

description

High-time-resolution X-ray observations of compact objects provide direct access to strong-field gravity, to the equation of state of ultra-dense matter and to black hole masses and spins. A 10 m^2-class instrument in combination with good spectral resolution is required to exploit the relevant diagnostics and answer two of the fundamental questions of the European Space Agency (ESA) Cosmic Vision Theme "Matter under extreme conditions", namely: does matter orbiting close to the event horizon follow the predictions of general relativity? What is the equation of state of matter in neutron stars? The Large Observatory For X-ray Timing (LOFT), selected by ESA as one of the four Cosmic Vision M3 candidate missions to undergo an assessment phase, will revolutionise the study of collapsed objects in our galaxy and of the brightest supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei. Thanks to an innovative design and the development of large-area monolithic Silicon Drift Detectors, the Large Area Detector (LAD) on board LOFT will achieve an effective area of ~12 m^2 (more than an order of magnitude larger than any spaceborne predecessor) in the 2-30 keV range (up to 50 keV in expanded mode), yet still fits a conventional platform and small/medium-class launcher. With this large area and a spectral resolution of <260 eV, LOFT will yield unprecedented information on strongly curved spacetimes and matter under extreme conditions of pressure and magnetic field strength.

year	journal	country	edition	language
2012-10-01

10.1007/s10686-011-9237-2 http://hal.in2p3.fr/in2p3-00703780