During our AO1 NuSTAR observation of the M31 bulge, we identified for the firsttime the counterpart to the single bright Swift source, Swift J0042.6+4112, thatdominates M31a??s emission at E>25 keV. We propose new simultaneous observationswith NuSTAR and XMM-Newton one year later to (A) properly constrain thesimultaneous 0.5-80 keV spectrum of this source with higher S/N and by removingambiguities due to its significant E< 10 keV variability and (B) look forvariability in its hard X-ray emission since AO1. We will also monitor virgul30 X-raybinaries in the field, one of the richest local environments for old stellarpopulations outside the Galaxy, to provide better constraints on the nature ofthe resolved point sources (i.e., black hole binaries vs. neutron star binaries).
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2017-01-21T04:31:49Z/2017-01-21T22:01:49Z
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 Mihoko Yukita, 2018, 'HARD X-RAY PULSAR CANDIDATE THAT MAY DOMINATE >25KEV:NUSTAR-XMM OBS OF M31 BULGE', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-7203mri
