LOFT: the Large Observatory For X-ray Timing
Name
Chakrabarty_Loft.pdf
Size
1.65 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
7baa3d8c81de30a7308ca26157246c8e
Author(s)
Chakrabarty, Deepto
Homan, Jeroen
Nowak, Michael A.
Weinberg, Nevin N.
Remillard, Ronald A
Date Issued
September 2012
Journal
Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2012: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray
Publisher
SPIE
Citation
Feroci, M., J. W. den Herder, E. Bozzo, D. Barret, S. Brandt, M. Hernanz, M. van der Klis, et al. “LOFT: The Large Observatory For X-Ray Timing.” Edited by Tadayuki Takahashi, Stephen S. Murray, and Jan-Willem A. den Herder. Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2012: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray (September 7, 2012). © Copyright Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)
Version
Final published version
Abstract
The LOFT mission concept is one of four candidates selected by ESA for the M3 launch opportunity as Medium Size missions of the Cosmic Vision programme. The launch window is currently planned for between 2022 and 2024. LOFT is designed to exploit the diagnostics of rapid X-ray flux and spectral variability that directly probe the motion of matter down to distances very close to black holes and neutron stars, as well as the physical state of ultradense matter. These primary science goals will be addressed by a payload composed of a Large Area Detector (LAD) and a Wide Field Monitor (WFM). The LAD is a collimated (<1 degree field of view) experiment operating in the energy range 2-50 keV, with a 10 m[superscript 2] peak effective area and an energy resolution of 260 eV at 6 keV. The WFM will operate in the same energy range as the LAD, enabling simultaneous monitoring of a few-steradian wide field of view, with an angular resolution of <5 arcmin. The LAD and WFM experiments will allow us to investigate variability from submillisecond QPO’s to yearlong transient outbursts. In this paper we report the current status of the project.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926310
