LOFT (Large Observatory For x-ray Timing) is one of the ESA M3 missions selected within the Cosmic Vision program in 2011 to carry out an assessment phase study and compete for a launch opportunity in 2022-2024. The phase-A studies of all M3 missions
were completed at the end of 2013. LOFT is designed to carry on-board two instruments with sensitivity in the 2-50 keV range: a 10 m 2 class Large Area Detector (LAD) with a <1{deg} collimated FoV and a wide field monitor (WFM) making use of coded masks and providing an instantaneous coverage of more than 1/3 of the sky. The prime goal of the WFM will be to detect transient sources to be observed by the LAD. However, thanks to its unique combination of a wide field of view (FoV) and energy resolution (better than 500 eV), the WFM will be also an excellent monitoring instrument to study the long term variability of many classes of X-ray sources. The WFM consists of 10 independent and identical coded mask cameras arranged in 5 pairs to provide the desired sky coverage. We provide here an overview of the instrument design, configuration, and capabilities of the LOFT WFM. The compact and modular design of the WFM could easily make the instrument concept adaptable for other missions.
Detection of X-rays from classical novae, both in outburst and post-outburst, provides unique and crucial information about the explosion mechanism. Soft X-rays reveal the hot white dwarf photosphere, whenever hydrogen (H) nuclear burning is still on
and expanding envelope is transparent enough, whereas harder X-rays give information about the ejecta and/or the accretion flow in the reborn cataclysmic variable. The duration of the supersoft X-ray emission phase is related to the turn-off of the classical nova, i.e., of the H-burning on top of the white dwarf core. A review of X-ray observations is presented, with a special emphasis on the implications for the duration of post-outburst steady H-burning and its theoretical explanation. The particular case of recurrent novae (both the standard objects and the recently discovered ones) is also reviewed, in terms of theoretical feasibility of short recurrence periods, as well as regarding implications for scenarios of type Ia supernovae.
Thermonuclear (type Ia) supernovae are explosions in accreting white dwarfs, but the exact scenario leading to these explosions is still unclear. An important step to clarify this point is to understand the behaviour of accreting white dwarfs in clos
e binary systems. The characteristics of the white dwarf (mass, chemical composition, luminosity), the accreted material (chemical composition) and those related with the properties of the binary system (mass accretion rate), are crucial for the further evolution towards the explosion. An analysis of the outcome of accretion and the implications for the growth of the white dwarf towards the Chandrasekhar mass and its thermonuclear explosion is presented.
The recurrent nova RS Oph experienced an outburst in 2006, 21 years after its previous explosion in 1985, as expected. It was observed at almost all wavelengths, and important information about its properties is still being extracted. We present theo
retical models of the explosion of this fascinating object, which indicate that the mass of the accreting white dwarf should be very close to the Chandrasekhar mass, to allow for such a short recurrence period. In addition, since models suggest that this nova ejects less mass than it accretes, it is an excellent candidate for a thermonuclear supernova explosion, in about $10^5-10^7$ years from now. We also analyze the emission of soft gamma-rays by RS Oph detected with the BAT instrument onboard Swift, and with the PCA onboard RXTE. We rule out that this emission has its origin in radioactive decays in the expanding nova envelope.
We report on X-ray observations of Nova Sagittarius 1998 (V4633 Sgr), performed with XMM-Newton at three different epochs, 934, 1083 and 1265 days after discovery. The nova was detected with the EPIC cameras at all three epochs, with emission spannin
g the whole energy range from 0.2 to 10 keV. The X-ray spectra do not change significantly at the different epochs, and are well fitted for the first and third observations with a multi-temperature optically thin thermal plasma, while lower statistics in the second observations lead to a poorer fit. The thermal plasma emission is most probably originated in the shock heated ejecta, with chemical composition similar to that of a CO nova. However, we can not completely rule out reestablished accretion as the origin of the emission. We also obtain upper limits for the temperature and luminosity of a potential white dwarf atmospheric component, and conclude that hydrogen burning had already turned-off by the time of our observations.
