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The LOFT mission concept: a status update

The LOFT mission concept: a status update
The LOFT mission concept: a status update
The Large Observatory For x-ray Timing (LOFT) is a mission concept which was proposed to ESA as M3 and M4 candidate in the framework of the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 program. Thanks to the unprecedented combination of effective area and spectral resolution of its main instrument and the uniquely large field of view of its wide field monitor, LOFT will be able to study the behaviour of matter in extreme conditions such as the strong gravitational field in the innermost regions close to black holes and neutron stars and the supra-nuclear densities in the interiors of neutron stars. The science payload is based on a Large Area Detector (LAD, >8m2 effective area, 2-30 keV, 240 eV spectral resolution, 1 degree collimated field of view) and a Wide Field Monitor (WFM, 2-50 keV, 4 steradian field of view, 1 arcmin source location accuracy, 300 eV spectral resolution). The WFM is equipped with an on-board system for bright events (e.g., GRB) localization. The trigger time and position of these events are broadcast to the ground within 30 s from discovery. In this paper we present the current technical and programmatic status of the mission.
Feroci, M.
be8108b0-8031-46c9-9ce2-c3164a7c6fb3
Mchardy, Ian
4f215137-9cc4-4a08-982e-772a0b24c17e
Feroci, M.
be8108b0-8031-46c9-9ce2-c3164a7c6fb3
Mchardy, Ian
4f215137-9cc4-4a08-982e-772a0b24c17e

Feroci, M. and Mchardy, Ian (2016) The LOFT mission concept: a status update. SPIE 9905, Space Telescopes and instrumentation 2016, , Edinburgh, United Kingdom. 26 Jun 2016. (In Press) (doi:10.1117/12.2233161).

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

The Large Observatory For x-ray Timing (LOFT) is a mission concept which was proposed to ESA as M3 and M4 candidate in the framework of the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 program. Thanks to the unprecedented combination of effective area and spectral resolution of its main instrument and the uniquely large field of view of its wide field monitor, LOFT will be able to study the behaviour of matter in extreme conditions such as the strong gravitational field in the innermost regions close to black holes and neutron stars and the supra-nuclear densities in the interiors of neutron stars. The science payload is based on a Large Area Detector (LAD, >8m2 effective area, 2-30 keV, 240 eV spectral resolution, 1 degree collimated field of view) and a Wide Field Monitor (WFM, 2-50 keV, 4 steradian field of view, 1 arcmin source location accuracy, 300 eV spectral resolution). The WFM is equipped with an on-board system for bright events (e.g., GRB) localization. The trigger time and position of these events are broadcast to the ground within 30 s from discovery. In this paper we present the current technical and programmatic status of the mission.

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The LOFT mission concept – A status update - Accepted Manuscript
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Accepted/In Press date: 26 June 2016
Venue - Dates: SPIE 9905, Space Telescopes and instrumentation 2016, , Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 2016-06-26 - 2016-06-26
Organisations: Astronomy Group

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Local EPrints ID: 411899
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/411899
PURE UUID: ad2cc100-a7cb-45b4-90c4-cd0adbbece0b

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Date deposited: 29 Jun 2017 16:31
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 15:00

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Contributors

Author: M. Feroci
Author: Ian Mchardy

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