Paper
18 July 2016 Large Observatory for x-ray Timing (LOFT-P): a Probe-class mission concept study
Colleen A. Wilson-Hodge, Paul S. Ray, Deepto Chakrabarty, Marco Feroci, Laura Alvarez, Michael Baysinger, Chris Becker, Enrico Bozzo, Soren Brandt, Billy Carson, Jack Chapman, Alexandra Dominguez, Leo Fabisinski, Bert Gangl, Jay Garcia, Christopher Griffith, Margarita Hernanz, Robert Hickman, Randall Hopkins, Michelle Hui, Luster Ingram, Peter Jenke, Seppo Korpela, Tom Maccarone, Malgorzata Michalska, Martin Pohl, Andrea Santangelo, Stephane Schanne, Andrew Schnell, Luigi Stella, Michiel van der Klis, Anna Watts, Berend Winter, Silvia Zane
Author Affiliations +
Abstract
LOFT-P is a mission concept for a NASA Astrophysics Probe-Class (<$1B) X-ray timing mission, based on the LOFT M-class concept originally proposed to ESAs M3 and M4 calls. LOFT-P requires very large collecting area, high time resolution, good spectral resolution, broad-band spectral coverage (2-30 keV), highly flexible scheduling, and an ability to detect and respond promptly to time-critical targets of opportunity. It addresses science questions such as: What is the equation of state of ultra dense matter? What are the effects of strong gravity on matter spiraling into black holes? It would be optimized for sub-millisecond timing of bright Galactic X-ray sources including X-ray bursters, black hole binaries, and magnetars to study phenomena at the natural timescales of neutron star surfaces and black hole event horizons and to measure mass and spin of black holes. These measurements are synergistic to imaging and high-resolution spectroscopy instruments, addressing much smaller distance scales than are possible without very long baseline X-ray interferometry, and using complementary techniques to address the geometry and dynamics of emission regions. LOFT-P would have an effective area of >6 m2, > 10x that of the highly successful Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). A sky monitor (2-50 keV) acts as a trigger for pointed observations, providing high duty cycle, high time resolution monitoring of the X-ray sky with ~20 times the sensitivity of the RXTE All-Sky Monitor, enabling multi-wavelength and multimessenger studies. A probe-class mission concept would employ lightweight collimator technology and large-area solid-state detectors, segmented into pixels or strips, technologies which have been recently greatly advanced during the ESA M3 Phase A study of LOFT. Given the large community interested in LOFT (>800 supporters*, the scientific productivity of this mission is expected to be very high, similar to or greater than RXTE (~ 2000 refereed publications). We describe the results of a study, recently completed by the MSFC Advanced Concepts Office, that demonstrates that such a mission is feasible within a NASA probe-class mission budget.
© (2016) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Colleen A. Wilson-Hodge, Paul S. Ray, Deepto Chakrabarty, Marco Feroci, Laura Alvarez, Michael Baysinger, Chris Becker, Enrico Bozzo, Soren Brandt, Billy Carson, Jack Chapman, Alexandra Dominguez, Leo Fabisinski, Bert Gangl, Jay Garcia, Christopher Griffith, Margarita Hernanz, Robert Hickman, Randall Hopkins, Michelle Hui, Luster Ingram, Peter Jenke, Seppo Korpela, Tom Maccarone, Malgorzata Michalska, Martin Pohl, Andrea Santangelo, Stephane Schanne, Andrew Schnell, Luigi Stella, Michiel van der Klis, Anna Watts, Berend Winter, and Silvia Zane "Large Observatory for x-ray Timing (LOFT-P): a Probe-class mission concept study", Proc. SPIE 9905, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2016: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 99054Y (18 July 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2232944
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Cited by 7 scholarly publications.
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KEYWORDS
X-rays

Space operations

Sensors

Astrophysics

Cameras

Control systems

Spectral resolution

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