Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2017
Volume 62, Number 1
Saturday–Tuesday, January 28–31, 2017; Washington, DC
Session K9: Mini-Symposium: Gamma-Ray Science Interest Group |
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Sponsoring Units: DAP Chair: Henric Krawczynski, Washington University in Saint Louis Room: Roosevelt 1 |
Sunday, January 29, 2017 1:30PM - 1:42PM |
K9.00001: STROBE-X: X-ray Timing & Spectroscopy on Dynamical Timescales from Microseconds to Years Paul Ray, Colleen Wilson-Hodge, Keith Gendreau, Deepto Chakrabarty, Marco Feroci, Thomas Maccarone, Zaven Arzoumanian, Ron Remillard, Kent Wood, Chris Griffith We describe a proposed probe-class mission concept that will provide an unprecedented view of the X-ray sky, performing timing and spectroscopy over a broad band (0.2--30 keV) probing timescale from microseconds to years. The Spectroscopic Time-Resolving Observatory for Broadband Energy X-rays (STROBE-X) comprises two primary instruments, one based on technology developed for the NICER mission and the other based on the European LOFT mission. The broad coverage will enable thermal components, non-thermal components, iron lines, and reflection features to be studied simultaneously from a single platform for the first time in accreting black holes at all scales. The massive collecting area will enable studies of the dense matter equation of state using multiple techniques. A broad range of other revolutionary science, such as high quality spectroscopy of clusters of galaxies and unprecedented timing investigations of active galactic nuclei, would also be obtained. We describe the mission concept and the planned trade studies that will optimize the mission to maximize the science return. This mission is being developed in collaboration with members of the European LOFT team, and a hardware contribution from Europe is expected. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, January 29, 2017 1:42PM - 1:54PM |
K9.00002: The High Energy X-ray Probe (HEX-P) Fiona Harrison The High-Energy X-ray Probe (HEX-P) is a probe-class (\textasciitilde {\$}500M) next-generation high-energy X-ray observatory with broadband (2-200 keV) response and \textasciitilde 40 times the sensitivity of any previous mis-sion in the 10-80 keV band, and \textgreater 500 times the sensitivity of any previous mission in the 80-200 keV band. Intended to launch contemporaneously with Athena, HEX-P will provide fundamental new discoveries that range from resolving \textasciitilde 90{\%} of the X-ray background at its peak, to measuring the cosmic evolution of black hole spin, to studying faint X-ray populations in nearby galaxies. Based on NuSTAR heritage, HEX-P requires only modest technology development, and could easily be executed within the next decade. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, January 29, 2017 1:54PM - 2:06PM |
K9.00003: Ex Luna Scientia: The Lunar Occultation Explorer (LOX) Richard Miller The Lunar Occultation Explorer (LOX) is a next-generation mission concept that provides new capabilities for time-domain astrophysics and established the Moon as a platform for nuclear astrophysics. Performance requirements are driven by Type-Ia supernova (SNeIa) science goals that seek to revel details of these profoundly radioactive objects, including their diversity. Primary science objectives include, but are not limited to, probing the fundamental thermonuclear physics processes, performing a census of progenitors and their explosion mechanisms, and evaluating the environmental conditions and intrinsic systematics of these enigmatic objects. LOX provides new capabilities for all-sky, continuous monitoring in the MeV regime (0.1-10 MeV) by leveraging the Lunar Occultation Technique (LOT). Key benefits of the LOX/LOT approach include maximizing the ratio of sensitive-to-total deployed mass, low implementation risk, and demonstrated operational simplicity that leverages extensive experience with planetary orbital geochemistry investigations; LOX also enables long-term monitoring of MeV gamma-ray sources, a critical capability for SNeIa science. Proof-of-principle efforts validated all aspects of the mission using previously deployed lunar science assets, and led to the first high-energy gamma-ray source detected at the Moon. LOX mission performance, development progress, and expectations for science investigations will be presented. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, January 29, 2017 2:06PM - 2:18PM |
K9.00004: Depicting the Gamma-ray Realm with the All-sky Medium Energy Gamma-Ray Observatory (AMEGO) Sara Buson The energy band from a few hundred keV to a few hundred GeV offers a unique window for studying both thermal and the non-thermal astrophysical processes. Important science can be gleaned fom investigations of emission mechanisms and environments of the most extreme objects that populate this mostly unexplored energy range. The All-sky Medium Energy Gamma-Ray Observatory (AMEGO) is a next-generation mission concept builing on the pioneering observations by COMPEL, on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, and the heritage of recent successful missions, such as Fermi-LAT, AGILE, AMS and PAMELA. With its capability of detecting both Compton-scattering events at lower energy and pair-production events at higher energy, AMEGO can explore the energy regime from 300 keV to $>$ 10 GeV with unprecedented sensitivity. We describe the concept of this wide-aperture instrument and discuss its power to address fundamental questions from a broad variety of astrophysical topics. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, January 29, 2017 2:18PM - 2:30PM |
K9.00005: The Advanced Patricle-astrophysics Telescope (APT) Mission Concept James Buckley The Advanced Pair Telescope (APT) is a concept for a probe-class gamma-ray mission aimed at two primary science objects: (1) providing sensitivity to thermal-WIMP dark matter over the entire natural range of annihilation cross-sections and masses and (2) identifying short GRBs or gravity wave sources by detecting and localizing MeV gamma-ray transients. The instrument combines a pair tracker and Compton telescope in one simple monolithic design. By using scintillating fibers for the tracker and wavelength-shifting fibers to readout CsI detectors, the instrument could achieve an order of magnitude improvement in sensitivity compared with Fermi at GeV energies, and several orders of magnitude improvement in MeV sensitivity compared to Comptel. The instrument would have roughly the same number of electronic channels as Fermi, but would provide an effective area of 12m$^{2}$, and a geometry factor of 100 m$^{2}$ str. The same CsI detectors used in the tracker/Compton telescope could be used for detection of high-energy transition radiation for measurements of light cosmic-ray abundances, making this a multi-purpose astro-particle physics observatory. The instantaneous all-sky sensitivity would provide a capability almost unique over the entire electromagnetic spectrum, providing a critical component of multi-messenger studies of the universe. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, January 29, 2017 2:30PM - 2:42PM |
K9.00006: The Cherenkov Telescope Array: A Very-High-Energy Complement to Future High-Energy Space Missions David A. Williams The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be a new observatory for the study of very-high-energy gamma-ray sources, designed to achieve an order of magnitude improvement in sensitivity in the $\sim$30 GeV to $\sim$100 TeV energy band compared to currently operating instruments: VERITAS, MAGIC, and H.E.S.S. CTA will probe known sources with unprecedented sensitivity, angular resolution, and spectral coverage, while also detecting hundreds of new sources. CTA will provide access to data in this energy band to members of the wider astronomical community for the first time. The CTA Consortium will also conduct a number of Key Science Projects, including a Galactic Plane survey and a survey of one quarter of the extragalactic sky, creating legacy data sets that will also be available to the public. This presentation will highlight synergies between CTA and future high-energy missions in space. [Preview Abstract] |
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