X-Ray Astronomy: The Future

J. WilmsRemeis-Observatory & ECAP, Univ. Erlangen-Nuremberg

X-Ray Astronomy: The Present

XMM-Newton (ESA): launched 1999 Dec 10

X-Ray Astronomy: The Present

XMM-Newton (ESA): launched 1999 Dec 10 INTEGRAL (ESA): launched 2002 Oct 17

X-Ray Astronomy: The Present

XMM-Newton (ESA): launched 1999 Dec 10 INTEGRAL (ESA): launched 2002 Oct 17

Currently Active Missions: X-ray Multiple-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton; ESA),

International Gamma-Ray Laboratory (INTEGRAL; ESA), Chandra (USA), Swift (USA),

Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) (USA), High Energy Transient Explorer (HETE-2; USA),

Fermi (USA), High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager Spacecraft (RHESSI; USA),

Suzaku (Japan, USA), AGILE (Italy), MAXI (Japan).

X-Ray Astronomy: The Present

XMM-Newton (ESA): launched 1999 Dec 10 INTEGRAL (ESA): launched 2002 Oct 17

Currently Active Missions: X-ray Multiple-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton; ESA),

International Gamma-Ray Laboratory (INTEGRAL; ESA), Chandra (USA), Swift (USA),

Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) (USA), High Energy Transient Explorer (HETE-2; USA),

Fermi (USA), High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager Spacecraft (RHESSI; USA),

Suzaku (Japan, USA), AGILE (Italy), MAXI (Japan).

We are living in the “golden age” of X-ray and Gamma-Ray Astronomy

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Current X-ray instruments have provided us with a large number of great

scientific results (see previous talk).

A personal list of selected highlights:

• Relativistic Fe Kα lines

=⇒ Black Holes are not SciFi but real

astrophysical laboratories!

Current X-ray instruments have provided us with a large number of great

scientific results (see previous talk).

A personal list of selected highlights:

• Relativistic Fe Kα lines

=⇒ Black Holes are not SciFi but real

astrophysical laboratories!

• Deep Field Cosmology

=⇒ Evolution of Black Holes in the

Universe

Current X-ray instruments have provided us with a large number of great

scientific results (see previous talk).

A personal list of selected highlights:

• Relativistic Fe Kα lines

=⇒ Black Holes are not SciFi but real

astrophysical laboratories!

• Deep Field Cosmology

=⇒ Evolution of Black Holes in the

Universe

• Physics of highly ionized gases

=⇒ Stellar coronae, supernova rem-

nants

Current X-ray instruments have provided us with a large number of great

scientific results (see previous talk).

A personal list of selected highlights:

• Relativistic Fe Kα lines

=⇒ Black Holes are not SciFi but real

astrophysical laboratories!

• Deep Field Cosmology

=⇒ Evolution of Black Holes in the

Universe

• Physics of highly ionized gases

=⇒ Stellar coronae, supernova rem-

nants

Need to see all this in multi-wavelength context – ESO-VLT, HST, Herschel, Spitzer, VLBA,. . .

Science Vision for European Astronomy (ASTRONET, 2007):

1. Do we understand the extremes of the Universe?

• Can we observe strong gravity in action?

• How do black hole accretion, jets and outflows operate?

• What do we learn from energetic radiation and particles?

2. How do galaxies form and evolve?

• How did the structure of the cosmic web evolve?

• How were galaxies assembled?

3. What is the origin and evolution of stars and planets?

• Do we understand stellar structure and evolution?

4. How do we fit in?

Similar questions also in US Decadal Reports, ESA Cosmic Vision, Denkschrift Astronomie, etc.

Science Vision for European Astronomy (ASTRONET, 2007):

1. Do we understand the extremes of the Universe?

• Can we observe strong gravity in action?

• How do black hole accretion, jets and outflows operate?

• What do we learn from energetic radiation and particles?

2. How do galaxies form and evolve?

• How did the structure of the cosmic web evolve?

• How were galaxies assembled?

3. What is the origin and evolution of stars and planets?

• Do we understand stellar structure and evolution?

4. How do we fit in?

Similar questions also in US Decadal Reports, ESA Cosmic Vision, Denkschrift Astronomie, etc.

To answer these questions, we need new facilities:

NuSTAR, eROSITA, ASTRO-H, and IXO

NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array): Imaging above 10 keV

• Launch: August 2011

(Pegasus)

• Caltech, NASA, Columbia,

DTU-Space, . . .

• grazing incidence optics,

multilayers (2× 120 shells),

10 m focal length

• 8 32 × 32 CZT detectors

NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array): Imaging above 10 keV

• Launch: August 2011

(Pegasus)

• Caltech, NASA, Columbia,

DTU-Space, . . .

• grazing incidence optics,

multilayers (2× 120 shells),

10 m focal length

• 8 32 × 32 CZT detectors

Astro-H: High-Resolution Spectroscopy

• Launch: 2013, JAXA/NASA

• multi layers, wide energy range (2–800 keV)

most important instrument on Astro-H:

calorimeter (∆E ∼7 eV)

A. Read, XMM-Newton Slew Survey

To observe X-ray sources, we need to know that they exist

=⇒ All Sky Surveys

To observe X-ray sources, we need to know that they exist

=⇒ All Sky Surveys

There is only one complete X-ray sky survey: ROSAT All Sky Survey

• limited to soft X-rays =⇒ misses absorbed sources!

• “shallow” =⇒ contains only the brightest sources

A large fraction of X-ray sky accessible to XMM-Newton is unknown!

eROSITA (extended ROentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array) on

Spectrum-XG

• Launch: Fall 2012, 4 year survey + pointed phase.

• Collaboration: Germany (MPE, IAAT, AIP, FAU, Hamburg)+Russia

• Extends ROSAT survey to 10 keV, 30× deeper

• 3 000 000 supermassive black holes

• 100 000 galaxy clusters =⇒ Λ, w

Major driver cosmology.Black Hole Feedback:

Early Universe: gas merges

to form galaxies

1. gas flows inwards onto

small black hole

2. X-rays are produced,

heating gas

3. gas swept away

4. star formation and black

hole X-ray emission

quenched

5. gas flow starts again

6. goto 1

=⇒X-rays are ideal probe

to study evolution of

universe.

Current observations allow real diagnostics only for objects close to us

=⇒ International X-ray Observatory (ESA/NASA/JAXA)

• Launch: ∼2021

• L2-Orbit (800 000 km radius)

• Highly nested grating incidence optics:

3 m2 at 1.25 keV, 5′′ resolution

• Instruments

– Wide Field Imager & Hard X-ray Imager

CCDs, 18′ FoV, 0.3–40 keV

– X-ray Grating Spectrometer

R = 3000 with 1000 cm2

– X-ray Microcalorimeter Spectrometer

2.5 eV with 5′ FoV

– High Time Resolution Spectrometer

1 Crab = 300000 counts/sec

– X-ray Polarimeter

Collecting Area: tremendous improvement on existing missions (∼30 wrt

XMM).

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a) determine z from X-rays alone

b) determine temperatures of hot gas out to high z

c) make spin measurements of Black Holes out to z = 1

d) detect faint, strongly absorbed Black Holes

Measure black hole

spin for ∼200 AGN

=⇒ spin up history

of black holeschaotic accretion vs. simpleaccretion

Time variation of Fe line

=⇒ measure properties of metric, BH

=⇒ test general relativity & accretion models

The future of X-ray astronomy looks good!