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The high energy Universe at ultra-high resolution: the power and promise of X-ray interferometry
- Source :
- Exper.Astron., Exper.Astron., 2021, 51 (3), pp.1081-1107. ⟨10.1007/s10686-021-09724-w⟩, Experimental Astronomy, 51(3), 1081-1107. Springer Netherlands
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- HAL CCSD, 2021.
-
Abstract
- We propose the development of X-ray interferometry (XRI), to reveal the universe at high energies with ultra-high spatial resolution. With baselines which can be accommodated on a single spacecraft, XRI can reach 100 $\mu$as resolution at 10 \AA (1.2 keV) and 20 $\mu$as at 2 \AA (6 keV), enabling imaging and imaging-spectroscopy of (for example) X-ray coronae of nearby accreting supermassive black holes (SMBH) and the SMBH `shadow'; SMBH accretion flows and outflows; X-ray binary winds and orbits; stellar coronae within ~100 pc and many exoplanets which transit across them. For sufficiently luminous sources XRI will resolve sub-pc scales across the entire observable universe, revealing accreting binary SMBHs and enabling trigonometric measurements of the Hubble constant with X-ray light echoes from quasars or explosive transients. A multi-spacecraft `constellation' interferometer would resolve well below 1 $\mu$as, enabling SMBH event horizons to be resolved in many active galaxies and the detailed study of the effects of strong field gravity on the dynamics and emission from accreting gas close to the black hole.<br />Comment: White Paper submitted in response to ESA's Voyage 2050 call
- Subjects :
- Active galactic nucleus
Event horizon
media_common.quotation_subject
Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
FOS: Physical sciences
Observable universe
Astrophysics
Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics
7. Clean energy
01 natural sciences
X-ray astronomy
symbols.namesake
0103 physical sciences
Astrophysics::Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
[PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-INS-DET]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Instrumentation and Detectors [physics.ins-det]
010303 astronomy & astrophysics
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)
Instrumentation
Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics
media_common
Physics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)
Supermassive black hole
010308 nuclear & particles physics
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Quasar
Universe
Interferometry
13. Climate action
Space and Planetary Science
symbols
Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
[PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]
Hubble's law
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 09226435
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Exper.Astron., Exper.Astron., 2021, 51 (3), pp.1081-1107. ⟨10.1007/s10686-021-09724-w⟩, Experimental Astronomy, 51(3), 1081-1107. Springer Netherlands
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....161bdef33ca52d99a8783133fc92a361