Session: Extragalactic Astronomy and Astrophysics
Name: Prof. Andreas Zezas (Univ. of Crete & IA-FORTH)
Coauthors:
Zhang William (NASA GSFC)
Hornschemeier Ann (NASA GSFC)
Hodges-Kluck Edmund ( NASA GSFC)
STAR-X Team ()
Type: Oral
Title: The STAR-X mission: the next frontier in wide-area and monitoring surveys
Abstract:
The Survey and Time-domain Astrophysics Research eXplorer (STAR-X) is a MIDEX-class mission selected for a NASA Phase-A study. It features a combination of wide-field, sensitive, high spatial resolution X-ray and UV telescopes, and the ability for cadenced surveys and fast response observations. I will present the capabilities and science goals of STAR-X, focusing on the wide-area surveys and time-domain observations. The wide area surveys will give a sensitive census of AGN and galaxy populations, 10-50 times deeper than the eROSITA survey, reaching the sensitivity of the Chandra Deep Field surveys. STAR-X will also provide new insights in our understanding of transient and explosive events, such as tidal disruption events, supernovae, and compact object mergers, by providing measurements of their X-ray and UV emission at very early times. I will discuss the scientific leaps in our understanding of these phenomena and the cosmological evolution of populations of AGN and galaxies that are enabled by STAR-X.