The LOFT mission: new perspectives in the research field of (accreting) compact objects
LOFT, the Large Observatory For X-ray Timing, is one of five ESA M3 candidate missions. It will address the Cosmic Vision theme: “Matter under Extreme Conditions”. By coupling for the first time a huge collecting area for the detection of X-ray photons with CCD-quality spectral resolution (15 times...
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doaj-fb3c1ad0b61241a2bbac3c8d9ded23e72021-08-02T06:01:07ZengEDP SciencesEPJ Web of Conferences2100-014X2014-01-01640900210.1051/epjconf/20136409002epjconf_mag2013_09002The LOFT mission: new perspectives in the research field of (accreting) compact objectsBozzo E.0Stella L.1van der Klis M.2Watts A.3Barret D.4Wilms J.5Uttley P.6den Herder J. W.7Feroci M.8ISDC, department of Astronomy, University of GenevaINAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di RomaAstronomical Institute Anton Pannekoek, University of AmsterdamAstronomical Institute Anton Pannekoek, University of AmsterdamUniversité de Toulouse, UPS-OMP, IRAP, Toulouse, France & CNRS, Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et PlanetologieDr. Karl-Remeis-Sternwarte and ECAPAstronomical Institute Anton Pannekoek, University of AmsterdamSRON Netherlands Institute for Space ResearchINAF-IASF LOFT, the Large Observatory For X-ray Timing, is one of five ESA M3 candidate missions. It will address the Cosmic Vision theme: “Matter under Extreme Conditions”. By coupling for the first time a huge collecting area for the detection of X-ray photons with CCD-quality spectral resolution (15 times bigger in area than any previously flown X-ray instrument and >100 times bigger for spectroscopy than any similar-resolution instrument), the instruments onboard LOFT have been designed to (i) determine the properties of ultradense matter by reconstructing its Equation of State through neutron star mass and radius measurements of unprecedented accuracy; (ii) measure General Relativity effects in the strong field regime in the stationary spacetimes of neutron stars and black holes of all masses down to a few gravitational radii. Besides the above two themes, LOFT’s observations will be devoted to “observatory science”, providing new insights in a number of research fields in high energy astrophysics (e.g. Gamma-ray Bursts). The assessment study phase of LOFT, which ended in September 2013, demonstrated that the mission is low risk and the required Technology Readiness Level can be easily reached in time for a launch by the end of 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/20136409002 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Bozzo E. Stella L. van der Klis M. Watts A. Barret D. Wilms J. Uttley P. den Herder J. W. Feroci M. |
spellingShingle |
Bozzo E. Stella L. van der Klis M. Watts A. Barret D. Wilms J. Uttley P. den Herder J. W. Feroci M. The LOFT mission: new perspectives in the research field of (accreting) compact objects EPJ Web of Conferences |
author_facet |
Bozzo E. Stella L. van der Klis M. Watts A. Barret D. Wilms J. Uttley P. den Herder J. W. Feroci M. |
author_sort |
Bozzo E. |
title |
The LOFT mission: new perspectives in the research field of (accreting) compact objects |
title_short |
The LOFT mission: new perspectives in the research field of (accreting) compact objects |
title_full |
The LOFT mission: new perspectives in the research field of (accreting) compact objects |
title_fullStr |
The LOFT mission: new perspectives in the research field of (accreting) compact objects |
title_full_unstemmed |
The LOFT mission: new perspectives in the research field of (accreting) compact objects |
title_sort |
loft mission: new perspectives in the research field of (accreting) compact objects |
publisher |
EDP Sciences |
series |
EPJ Web of Conferences |
issn |
2100-014X |
publishDate |
2014-01-01 |
description |
LOFT, the Large Observatory For X-ray Timing, is one of five ESA M3 candidate missions. It will address the Cosmic Vision theme: “Matter under Extreme Conditions”. By coupling for the first time a huge collecting area for the detection of X-ray photons with CCD-quality spectral resolution (15 times bigger in area than any previously flown X-ray instrument and >100 times bigger for spectroscopy than any similar-resolution instrument), the instruments onboard LOFT have been designed to (i) determine the properties of ultradense matter by reconstructing its Equation of State through neutron star mass and radius measurements of unprecedented accuracy; (ii) measure General Relativity effects in the strong field regime in the stationary spacetimes of neutron stars and black holes of all masses down to a few gravitational radii. Besides the above two themes, LOFT’s observations will be devoted to “observatory science”, providing new insights in a number of research fields in high energy astrophysics (e.g. Gamma-ray Bursts). The assessment study phase of LOFT, which ended in September 2013, demonstrated that the mission is low risk and the required Technology Readiness Level can be easily reached in time for a launch by the end of 2022.
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url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/20136409002 |
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