We propose XMM-Newton observations of 3 fields of the Small Magellanic Cloud(SMC) with stellar populations virgul100-500 Myr old. These observations were part ofan AO4 program to study the X-ray Binaries (XRBs) of 10 to 500 Myr old stellarpopulations down to Lxvirgul2.5e33 erg/s. Two young fields were successfullyobserved, while the proposed (older) fields were affected by radiation or notobserved. Based on X-ray spectra and timing analysis we will identify X-raybinary pulsars down to spin periods less than 10s. With these results we willstudy the connection between stellar and XRB populations and complement Chandraand XMM-Newton observations of the SMC and other galaxies where faint XRBscannot be observed.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2007-10-28T05:49:16Z/2008-03-17T00:04:49Z
Version
17.56_20190403_1200
Mission Description
The European Space Agencys (ESA) X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) was launched by an Ariane 504 on December 10th 1999. XMM-Newton is ESAs second cornerstone of the Horizon 2000 Science Programme. It carries 3 high throughput X-ray telescopes with an unprecedented effective area, and an optical monitor, the first flown on a X-ray observatory. The large collecting area and ability to make long uninterrupted exposures provide highly sensitive observations. Since Earths atmosphere blocks out all X-rays, only a telescope in space can detect and study celestial X-ray sources. The XMM-Newton mission is helping scientists to solve a number of cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic black holes to the origins of the Universe itself. Observing time on XMM-Newton is being made available to the scientific community, applying for observational periods on a competitive basis.
European Space Agency, Dr Andreas Zezas, 2009, 'The X-ray source populations of different stellar generations in the SMC', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-cp0elgb
