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Register a new userESA Voyage 2050 white paper -- Faint objects in motion: the new frontier of high precision astrometry
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F. Malbet
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Sky survey telescopes and powerful targeted telescopes play complementary roles in astronomy. In order to investigate the nature and characteristics of the motions of very faint objects, a flexibly-pointed instrument capable of high astrometric accuracy is an ideal complement to current astrometric surveys and a unique tool for precision astrophysics. Such a space-based mission will push the frontier of precision astrometry from evidence of earth-massed habitable worlds around the nearest starts, and also into distant Milky way objects up to the Local Group of galaxies. As we enter the era of the James Webb Space Telescope and the new ground-based, adaptive-optics-enabled giant telescopes, by obtaining these high precision measurements on key objects that Gaia could not reach, a mission that focuses on high precision astrometry science can consolidate our theoretical understanding of the local universe, enable extrapolation of physical processes to remote redshifts, and derive a much more consistent picture of cosmological evolution and the likely fate of our cosmos. Already several missions have been proposed to address the science case of faint objects in motion using high precision astrometry ESA missions: NEAT for M3, micro-NEAT for S1 mission, and Theia for M4 and M5. Additional new mission configurations adapted with technological innovations could be envisioned to pursue accurate measurements of these extremely small motions. The goal of this white paper is to address the fundamental science questions that are at stake when we focus on the motions of faint sky objects and to briefly review quickly instrumentation and mission profiles.
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This paper presents the ESA Voyage 2050 White Paper for a concept of TeraHertz Exploration and Zooming-in for Astrophysics (THEZA). It addresses the science case and some implementation issues of a space-borne radio interferometric system for ultra-sharp imaging of celestial radio sources at the level of angular resolution down to (sub-) microarcseconds. THEZA focuses at millimetre and sub-millimetre wavelengths (frequencies above $sim$300~GHz), but allows for science operations at longer wavelengths too. The THEZA concept science rationale is focused on the physics of spacetime in the vicinity of supermassive black holes as the leading science driver. The main aim of the concept is to facilitate a major leap by providing researchers with orders of magnitude improvements in the resolution and dynamic range in direct imaging studies of the most exotic objects in the Universe, black holes. The concept will open up a sizeable range of hitherto unreachable parameters of observational astrophysics. It unifies two major lines of development of space-borne radio astronomy of the past decades: Space VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry) and mm- and sub-mm astrophysical studies with single dish instruments. It also builds upon the recent success of the Earth-based Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) -- the first-ever direct image of a shadow of the super-massive black hole in the centre of the galaxy M87. As an amalgam of these three major areas of modern observational astrophysics, THEZA aims at facilitating a breakthrough in high-resolution high image quality studies in the millimetre and sub-millimetre domain of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Since the birth of X-ray Astronomy, spectacular advances have been seen in the imaging, spectroscopic and timing studies of the hot and violent X-ray Universe, and further leaps forward are expected in the future. On the other hand, polarimetry is very much lagging behind: after the measurements of the Crab Nebula and Scorpius X-1, obtained by OSO-8 in the 70s, no more observations have been performed in the classical X-ray band, even if some interesting results have been obtained in hard X-rays and in soft gamma-rays. The NASA/ASI mission IXPE, scheduled for the launch in 2021, is going to provide for the first time imaging X-ray polarimetry in the 2-8 keV band thanks to its photoelectric polarimeter, coupled with ~25 angular resolution X-ray mirrors. Its orders of magnitude improvement in sensitivity with respect to the OSO-8 Bragg polarimeter implies scientifically meaningful polarimetric measurements for at least the brightest specimens of most classes of X-ray sources. In 2027, the Chinese-led mission eXTP should also be launched. In addition to timing and spectroscopic instruments, eXTP will have on board photoelectric polarimeters very similar to those of IXPE, but with a total effective area 2-3 times larger. Building on IXPE results, eXTP will increase the number of sources for which significant polarimetric measurements could be obtained. However, further progresses, such as exploring a broader energy range, considering a larger effective area, improving the angular resolution, and performing wide-field polarization measurements, are needed to reach a mature phase for X-ray polarimetry. In the first part of this White Paper we will discuss a few scientific cases in which a next generation X-ray Polarimetry mission can provide significant advances. In the second part, a possible concept for a medium-class Next Generation X-ray Polarimetry (NGXP) mission will be sketched.
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The Theia Collaboration: Celine Boehm
, Alberto Krone-Martins andn Antonio Amorim
, Guillem Anglada-Escude
2017
In the context of the ESA M5 (medium mission) call we proposed a new satellite mission, Theia, based on relative astrometry and extreme precision to study the motion of very faint objects in the Universe. Theia is primarily designed to study the local dark matter properties, the existence of Earth-like exoplanets in our nearest star systems and the physics of compact objects. Furthermore, about 15 $%$ of the mission time was dedicated to an open observatory for the wider community to propose complementary science cases. With its unique metrology system and point and stare strategy, Theias precision would have reached the sub micro-arcsecond level. This is about 1000 times better than ESA/Gaias accuracy for the brightest objects and represents a factor 10-30 improvement for the faintest stars (depending on the exact observational program). In the version submitted to ESA, we proposed an optical (350-1000nm) on-axis TMA telescope. Due to ESA Technology readiness level, the cameras focal plane would have been made of CCD detectors but we anticipated an upgrade with CMOS detectors. Photometric measurements would have been performed during slew time and stabilisation phases needed for reaching the required astrometric precision.
The Origins Space Telescope (Origins) is one of four science and technology definition studies selected by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in preparation of the 2020 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal survey in the US. Origins will trace the history of our origins from the time dust and heavy elements permanently altered the cosmic landscape to present-day life. It is designed to answer three major science questions: How do galaxies form stars, make metals, and grow their central supermassive black holes from reionization? How do the conditions for habitability develop during the process of planet formation? Do planets orbiting M-dwarf stars support life? Origins operates at mid- to far-infrared wavelengths from ~2.8 to 588 {mu}m, is more than 1000 times more sensitive than prior far-IR missions due to its cold (~4.5 K) aperture and state-of-the-art instruments.
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