Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-01T10:35:29.677Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The X-Ray Timing Explorer*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

H. V. Bradt
Affiliation:
Center for Space Research (Room 37-587), MIT, Cambridge MA 02139, USA
A. M. Levine
Affiliation:
Center for Space Research (Room 37-587), MIT, Cambridge MA 02139, USA
E. H. Morgan
Affiliation:
Center for Space Research (Room 37-587), MIT, Cambridge MA 02139, USA
R. A. Remillard
Affiliation:
Center for Space Research (Room 37-587), MIT, Cambridge MA 02139, USA
J. H. Swank
Affiliation:
Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, Code 666, GSFC NASA, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
B. L. Dingus
Affiliation:
Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, Code 666, GSFC NASA, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
S. S. Holt
Affiliation:
Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, Code 666, GSFC NASA, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
K. M. Jahoda
Affiliation:
Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, Code 666, GSFC NASA, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
R. E. Rothschild
Affiliation:
Center for Astrophysics and Space Science, UCSD C-011, La Jolla CA 92093, USA
D. E. Gruber
Affiliation:
Center for Astrophysics and Space Science, UCSD C-011, La Jolla CA 92093, USA
P. L. Hink
Affiliation:
Center for Astrophysics and Space Science, UCSD C-011, La Jolla CA 92093, USA
R. M. Pelling
Affiliation:
Center for Astrophysics and Space Science, UCSD C-011, La Jolla CA 92093, USA
J. G. Jernigan
Affiliation:
Space Sciences Laboratory, UCB Berkeley, CA 94720, USA

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The capabilities of the X-ray Timing Explorer (XTE) are described with particular attention paid to current scientific problems it will address from galactic neutron star systems to active galactic nuclei. It features a low-background continuous 2-200 keV response with large apertures (a 0.63-m2 proportional counter array and a 0.16-m2 dual rocking NaI/CsI scintillation array). Rapid response (in hours) to temporal phenomena, e.g. transients, is obtained by virtue of a scanning all-sky monitor and rapid maneuverability. XTE will carry out detailed energy-resolved studies of phenomena close to neutron stars (e.g. QPO’s) because of its sub-millisecond timing (to 10 μs), its high telemetry rates (to 256 kb/s), and the high throughput of its data system (to ≳ 2 × 105 c s−1).

Type
II. Future Missions
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer 1990

Footnotes

*

This article originally appeared in Advances in Space Research (Bradt, Swank and Rothschild 1990). It is reproduced here (with minor changes) with the permission of Pergamon Press.

References

Alpar, M., and Shaham, J.: 1985, Nature 316, 239 Google Scholar
Aschenbach, B.: 1988, Appl. Optics 27, 1404 Google Scholar
Beuermann, K.: 1988, in, ed(s)., 125, Polarized Radiation of Circumstellar Origin, eds. Coyne, G.V., et al., Vatican Observatory, Rome Google Scholar
Boynton, P., Deeter, J., Lamb, F., Zylstra, G., Pravdo, S., White, N., Wood, K., and Yentis, D.: 1984, Astrophys. J. Lett. 283, L53 Google Scholar
Bradt, H., Remillard, R., Tuohy, I., Buckley, D., Brissenden, R., Schwartz, D., and Roberts, W.: 1988, in, ed(s).,, The Physics of Neutron Stars and Black Holes, ed. Tanaka, Y., Universal Academic Press, Tokyo Google Scholar
Bradt, H., Swank, J., Rothschild, R.: 1990, Adv. Space Res. 10, (2)297 Google Scholar
Brissenden, R., Remillard, R., Tuohy, I., Schwartz, D., and Hertz, P.: 1990, Astrophys. J. 350, 578 Google Scholar
Corbet, R.: 1984, Astron. Astrophys. 141, 91 Google Scholar
Corbet, R.: 1986, in, ed(s)., 63, The Evolution of Galactic X-ray Binaries, ed. Trumper, J. et al., Reidel, Dordrecht Google Scholar
Debouzy, G.: 1983, Adv. in Space Research 3, 99 Google Scholar
Deeter, J., Lamb, F., Zylstra, G., Pravdo, S., White, N., Wood, K., and Yentis, D.: 1984, Astrophys. J. Lett. 283, L53 Google Scholar
Dicke, R.: 1968, Astrophys. J. Lett. 153, L101 Google Scholar
Doty, J.: 1988, in, ed(s)., 164, X-ray Instrumentation in Astronomy II, ed. Golub, L., Proc. SPIE 982 Google Scholar
Doxsey, R., Bradt, H., McClintock, J., Petro, L., Remillard, R., Ricker, G., Schwartz, D., and Wood, K.: 1983, Astrophys. J. 264, L43 Google Scholar
Ebisuzaki, T., Hanawa, T., Sugimoto, D.: 1984, Pub. Astron. Soc. Japan 36, 551 Google Scholar
Epstein, R., Lamb, F. and Priedhorsky, W.: 1986, in, ed(s).,, Astrophysics of Time Variability in X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Sources, Proceedings of the Taos Workshop, Los Alamos Science, No. 13 Google Scholar
Feigelson, E. et al.: 1986, Astrophys. J. 302, 337 Google Scholar
Friedman, J.: 1983, Phys. Rev. Lett. 51, 11 Google Scholar
Gruber, D., Matteson, J., Nolan, P., Knight, F., Baity, W., Rothschild, R., Peterson, L., Hoffman, J., Scheepmaker, A., Wheaton, W., Primini, F., Levine, A., and Lewin, W.: 1980, Astrophys. J. Lett. 240, L127 Google Scholar
Hasinger, G.: 1986, in, ed(s)., 333, The Origin and Evolution of Neutron Stars, eds. Helfand, D. and Huang, J., Reidel, Dordrecht 1986 Google Scholar
Helfand, D., Ruderman, M., and Shaham, J.: 1983, Nature 304, 118 Google Scholar
Joss, P. and Rappaport, S.: 1984, Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 22, 537 Google Scholar
Joss, P. 1988, private communication.Google Scholar
Koyama, K., Kondo, H., Makino, F., Nagase, F., Takano, S., Tawara, Y., Turner, M., and Warwick, R.: 1989, PASJ 41, 483 Google Scholar
Lamb, D.: 1985, in, ed(s)., 179, Cataclysmic Variables and Low-Mass X-ray Binaries, ed. Lamb, D.Q. and Patterson, J., Reidel, Dordrecht Google Scholar
Lamb, D.: 1988, in, ed(s)., 151, Polarized Radiation of Circumstellar Origin, eds. Coyne, G.V., et al., Vatican Observatory, Rome Google Scholar
Lamb, F.: 1988, Advances in Space Research 8, #2-3, 421 Google Scholar
Lamb, F., Pines, D., and Shaham, J.: 1978, Astrophys. J. 224, 969 Google Scholar
Lamb, F., Shibazaki, N., Shaham, J., and Alpar, M.: 1985, Nature 317, 681 Google Scholar
Lamb, F.: 1985, in, ed(s)., 19, Galactic and Extragalactic Compact X-Ray Sources, ed. Tanaka, Y. and Lewin, W., Cambridge U. Press, Cambridge Google Scholar
Lawrence, A., Watson, M., Pounds, K., and Elvis, M.: 1987, Nature 325, 694 Google Scholar
Lewin, W., van Paradijs, J., and van der Klis, M.: 1988, Sp. Sci. Rev. 46, 273 Google Scholar
Liebert, J., and Stockman, H.: 1985, in, ed(s)., 151, Cataclysmic Variables and Low-Mass X-ray Binaries, ed. Lamb, D.Q. and Patterson, J., Reidel, Dordrecht Google Scholar
Maccacaro, T., Gioia, L, Maccagni, D., and Stocke, J.: 1984, Astrophys. J. 284, L23 Google Scholar
Makino, F. and the Astro-C Team: 1987, Astrophys. Lett. and Comm. 25, 223 Google Scholar
Matteson, J.: 1978, AIAA 16th Aerospace Sciences Mtg, Paper 7835, unpublGoogle Scholar
McClintock, J.A. and Levine, A.M.: 1984, in, ed(s)., 642, High Energy Transients in Astrophysics, ed. Woosley, S., Am. Inst. of Phys. New York Google Scholar
McClintock, J., and Remillard, R.: 1986, Astrophys. J. 308, 371 Google Scholar
McHardy, I. and Czerny, B.: 1987, Nature 325, 696 Google Scholar
Meekins, J., Wood, K., Hedler, R., Byram, E., Yentis, D., Chubb, T., and Friedman, H.: 1984, Astrophys. J. 278, 288 Google Scholar
Mitsuda, K., and the Ginga Team: 1988, in, ed(s)., in press, The Physics of Compact Objects: Theory Versus Observations, eds. Filipov, L. and White, N., Pergamon Press, Oxford Google Scholar
Ohashi, T. 1988, private communication.Google Scholar
Osborne, J.: 1988, in, ed(s)., in press, X-ray Astronomy with Exosat, eds. Pallavicini, R. and White, N., Memoria della Societa Astronomica Italiana, Firenze Google Scholar
Parmar, A., White, N., Stella, L., Izzo, C., and Ferri, P.: 1989a, Astrophys. J. 338, 359 Google Scholar
Parmar, A., White, N., and Stella, L.: 1989b, Astrophys. J. 338, 373 Google Scholar
Patterson, J.: 1984, Astrophys. J. Suppl. 54, 443 Google Scholar
Remillard, R., Bradt, H., Buckley, D., Roberts, W., Schwartz, D., Tuohy, I., and Wood, K.: 1986a, Astrophys. J. 301, 742 Google Scholar
Remillard, R., Bradt, H., McClintock, J., Patterson, J., Roberts, W., Schwartz, D., and Tapia, S.: 1986b, Astrophys. J. Lett. 302, L11 Google Scholar
Remillard, R., Schwartz, D., Brissenden, R.: 1988, in, ed(s)., 273, A Decade of Ultraviolet Astronomy with the IUE Satellite, vol. 2, ed. Rolfe, E., ESA/ESTEC, NoordwijkGoogle Scholar
Remillard, R. 1990, private communication.Google Scholar
Rothschild, R., Boldt, E., Holt, S., Serlemitsos, P., Garmire, G., Agrawal, P., Riegler, G., Bowyer, S., and Lampton, M.: 1979, Space Sci. Instr. 4, 269 Google Scholar
Rothschild, R., Boldt, E., Holt, S., and Serlemitsos, P.: 1977, Astrophys. J. 213, 818 Google Scholar
Rothschild, R., Mushotzky, R., Baity, W., Gruber, D., Matteson, J., and Peterson, L.: 1983, Astrophys. J. 269, 423 Google Scholar
Sang, Y., and Chanmugan, G.: 1987, Astrophys. J. Lett. 323, L61 Google Scholar
Schnopper, H. 1990, this volume.Google Scholar
Snyder, W. et al: 1980, Astrophys. J. Lett. 237, L11 Google Scholar
Spada, G. 1988, private communication.Google Scholar
Sunyaev, R. 1990, this volume.Google Scholar
Sunyaev, R. and the Kvant Team 1988, IAU Circ. 4606.Google Scholar
Sunyaev, R.: 1973, Sov. Astron. 16, 941 Google Scholar
Swanenburg, B., Bennett, K., Bignami, G., Caraveo, P., Hermsen, W., Kanbach, G., Masnou, J., Mayer-Hasselwander, H., Paul, J., Sacco, B., Scarsi, L., and Wills, R.: 1978, Nature 275, 298 Google Scholar
Tanaka, Y. 1988, private communication.Google Scholar
Tennant, A.: 1987, MNRAS 226, 971 Google Scholar
Trumper, J., Pietsch, W., Reppin, C., Voges, W., Staubert, R., and Kendziorra, E.: 1978, Astrophys. J. 219, 105 Google Scholar
Urry, C.M.: 1988, in, ed(s)., 257, Active Galactic Nuclei, ed. Miller, H. and Witta, P., Springer-Verlag, Berlin Google Scholar
Urry, E. and Mushotzky, R.: 1982, Astrophys. J. 253, 38 Google Scholar
van den Heuvel, E., and Rappaport, S.: 1988, in, ed(s)., 291, IAU Colloq. #92, Physics of Be Stars, eds. Slettebak, A. and Snow, T., Cambridge U. Press, Cambridge Google Scholar
Van der Klis, M., Jansen, F., Van Paradijs, J., Lewin, W., Van den Heuvel, E., Trumper, J., and Sztajno, M.: 1985, Nature 316, 225 Google Scholar
Wagoner, R.V.: 1984, Astrophys. J. 278, 345 Google Scholar
Warwick, R., Turner, R., Watson, M., and Willingale, R.: 1985, Nature 317, 218 Google Scholar
Wilson, C. and Rothschild, R.: 1983, Astrophys. J. 274, 717 Google Scholar
Wood, K., Meekins, J., Yentis, D., Smathers, , McNutt, D. H., Bleach, R., Byram, E., Chubb, T., Friedman, H.: 1984, Astrophys. J. Suppl. 56, 507 Google Scholar
Xu, Y., Sutherland, P., McCray, R., and Ross, R.: 1988, Astrophys. J. 327, 197 Google Scholar