The combination of the fast EPIC-pn modes and broad-band coverage with RXTE wasan effective means of exploring accretion in bright Galactic black holes.XMM-Newton and NuSTAR provide an even more powerful combination. We propose onejoint 40 ks observation of a new or known black hole transient during a bright,hard outburst. The goals of this program are to 1) measure the inner accretiondisk radius of the black hole via disk reflection spectrum and infer the blackhole spin, 2) test an apparent anti-correlation between winds and jets in softand hard states by making a very sensitive search for winds in a hard state.This observation will be supported by a network of ground-based observatoriesand X-ray monitoring and is in continuation of our successful program in AO 13 15.
Instrument
EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2018-02-25T05:13:20Z/2018-02-26T00:48:46Z
Version
19.17_20220121_1250
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, Prof Fiona Harrison, 2019, 'The hard state of a transient black hole: is the accretion disk truncatedquestionMark', 19.17_20220121_1250, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-0zc75jz
