Kavli Affiliate: Renxin Xu
| First 5 Authors: Weimin Yuan, Lixin Dai, Hua Feng, Chichuan Jin, Peter Jonker
| Summary:
The Einstein Probe (EP) is an interdisciplinary mission of time-domain and
X-ray astronomy. Equipped with a wide-field lobster-eye X-ray focusing imager,
EP will discover cosmic X-ray transients and monitor the X-ray variability of
known sources in 0.5-4 keV, at a combination of detecting sensitivity and
cadence that is not accessible to the previous and current wide-field
monitoring missions. EP can perform quick characterisation of transients or
outbursts with a Wolter-I X-ray telescope onboard. In this paper, the science
objectives of the Einstein Probe mission are presented. EP is expected to
enlarge the sample of previously known or predicted but rare types of
transients with a wide range of timescales. Among them, fast extragalactic
transients will be surveyed systematically in soft X-rays, which include
{gamma}-ray bursts and their variants, supernova shock breakouts, and the
predicted X-ray transients associated with binary neutron star mergers. EP will
detect X-ray tidal disruption events and outbursts from active galactic nuclei,
possibly at an early phase of the flares for some. EP will monitor the
variability and outbursts of X-rays from white dwarfs, neutron stars and black
holes in our and neighbouring galaxies at flux levels fainter than those
detectable by the current instruments, and is expected to discover new objects.
A large sample of stellar X-ray flares will also be detected and characterised.
In the era of multi-messenger astronomy, EP has the potential of detecting the
possible X-ray counterparts of gravitational wave events, neutrino sources, and
ultra-high energy {gamma}-ray and cosmic ray sources. EP is expected to help
advance the studies of extreme objects/phenomena and their underlying physical
processes revealed in the dynamic X-ray universe, as well as studies in other
areas of X-ray astronomy.
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