The INTEGRAL satellite has been discovering extreme sources that were missed byprevious surveys. While this is providing a much more complete view of hardX-ray source populations, follow-up efforts are essential for determining thenature of the sources. This proposal, which focuses on Galactic sources, such asthe population of High Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs), includes three sources forwhich short Chandra observations made during the past year have allowed for theidentification of optical counterparts. We propose to perform a complete anddefinitive identification of IGR J14091-6108, IGR J18381-0924 and IGRJ17164-3803 by combining XMM, VLT (optical spectroscopy), and NuSTARobservations.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2015-07-21T01:32:57Z/2016-03-19T20:32:12Z
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 John Tomsick, 2017, 'Determining the Nature of Unidentified IGR Sources in the Galactic Plane', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-htje9m3
