Article

The high energy Universe at ultra-high resolution: the power and promise of X-ray interferometry

P. UttleyAnton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, NetherlandsR. den HartogSRON, Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Sorbonnelaan 2, 3584, CA, Utrecht, NetherlandsCosimo BambiDepartment of Physics, Fudan University, 200438, Shanghai, People’s Republic of ChinaD. BarretCNRS, IRAP, 9 Avenue du colonel Roche, BP 44346, 31028, Toulouse Cedex 4, FranceS. BianchiDipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, via della Vasca Navale 84, 00146, Roma, ItalyMichal BursaAstronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Boční II 1401, CZ-14100, Prague, Czech RepublicM. CappiINAF–OAS, Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna, Via P. Gobetti 93/3, Bologna, 40129, ItalyP. CasellaINAF, Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Via Frascati 33, 00040, Monteporzio Catone, RM, ItalyW. CashDepartment of Astrophysical, Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USAElisa CostantiniSRON, Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Sorbonnelaan 2, 3584, CA, Utrecht, NetherlandsThomas DauserDr. Karl Remeis-Sternwarte and Erlangen Centre for Astroparticle Physics, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Sternwartstr. 7, 96049, Bamberg, GermanyMaría Díaz TrigoKeith C. GendreauX-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USAV. GrinbergInstitut für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Sand 1, 72076, Tübingen, GermanyJan-Willem den HerderSRON, Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Sorbonnelaan 2, 3584, CA, Utrecht, NetherlandsAdam IngramDepartment of Physics, University of Oxford, Keble Road, Oxford, OX1 3RH, UKErin KaraMIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, 70 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USASera MarkoffAnton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, NetherlandsB. MingoSchool of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UKF. PanessaIAPS-INAF, Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133, Roma, ItalyKatja PoppenhägerLeibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP), An der Sternwarte 16, 14482, Potsdam, GermanyA. RóżáńskaNicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, Polish Academy of Sciences, Bartycka 18, 00-716, Warsaw, PolandJiří SvobodaAstronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Boční II 1401, CZ-14100, Prague, Czech RepublicR. A. M. J. WijersAnton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, NetherlandsR. WillingaleX-ray and Observational Astronomy Group, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UKJ. WilmsDr. Karl Remeis-Sternwarte and Erlangen Centre for Astroparticle Physics, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Sternwartstr. 7, 96049, Bamberg, GermanyM. W. WiseSRON, Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Sorbonnelaan 2, 3584, CA, Utrecht, Netherlands

2021en

ABI

Abstract

Abstract We propose the development of X-ray interferometry (XRI), to reveal the Universe at high energies with ultra-high spatial resolution. With baselines which can be accommodated on a single spacecraft, XRI can reach 100 μ as resolution at 10 Å (1.2 keV) and 20 μ as at 2 Å (6 keV), enabling imaging and imaging-spectroscopy of (for example) X-ray coronae of nearby accreting supermassive black holes (SMBH) and the SMBH ‘shadow’; SMBH accretion flows and outflows; X-ray binary winds and orbits; stellar coronae within $\sim $ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mo>∼</mml:mo> </mml:math> 100 pc and many exoplanets which transit across them. For sufficiently luminous sources XRI will resolve sub-pc scales across the entire observable Universe, revealing accreting binary SMBHs and enabling trigonometric measurements of the Hubble constant with X-ray light echoes from quasars or explosive transients. A multi-spacecraft ‘constellation’ interferometer would resolve well below 1 μ as, enabling SMBH event horizons to be resolved in many active galaxies and the detailed study of the effects of strong field gravity on the dynamics and emission from accreting gas close to the black hole.

Identifiers

DOI: 10.1007/s10686-021-09724-w

Citations and references

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