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Frontiers in accretion physics at high X-ray spectral resolution

Nature Astronomy volume 6, pages 1364–1375 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

Microcalorimeters have shown remarkable success in delivering high-spectral-resolution observations of the hot and energetic Universe, and have paved the way to revolutionary new science possibilities in X-ray astronomy. There are several research areas in compact-object science that can only be addressed with energy resolution ΔE ≲ 5 eV at photon energies of a few kiloelectronvolts, corresponding to a velocity resolution of less than a few hundred kilometres per second, to be ushered in by microcalorimeters. Here we review some of the outstanding questions, focusing on how the research landscape is set to be transformed at the interface between accreting supermassive black holes and their host galaxies, in unravelling the structures of accretion environments, in resolving long-standing issues on the origins of energy and matter feedback, and in testing mass-scaled unification of accretion and feedback. The need to learn lessons from Hitomi and to make improvements in laboratory atomic data precision as well as plasma modelling are highlighted.

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Fig. 1: Schematic overview of the environments of accreting compact objects and their X-ray spectra.
Fig. 2: The road to key discoveries in X-ray astronomy as a function of increasing spectral resolution and improving continuum sensitivity.
Fig. 3: Comparison of joint physical constraints on ionized outflows with a microcalorimeter versus a CCD.
Fig. 4: Schematic illustration of spectral line imprints expected under differing conditions.
Fig. 5: Simulations of XRB thermal versus magnetic winds.

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No new data are presented in this paper. Simulation datasets are available from the corresponding authors upon request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK

    P. Gandhi, J. A. Paice, P. G. Boorman & C. L. Greenwell

  2. Núcleo de Astronomía de la Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile

    T. Kawamuro

  3. European Southern Observatory, Garching bei München, Germany

    M. Díaz Trigo & C. L. Greenwell

  4. Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune University, Pune, India

    J. A. Paice

  5. Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic

    P. G. Boorman

  6. INAF – OAS Bologna, Astrophysics and Space Science Observatory, Bologna, Italy

    M. Cappi

  7. Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy, Department of Physics, University of Durham, Durham, UK

    C. Done & R. Tomaru

  8. Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    A. C. Fabian

  9. Department of Physics and Astronomy, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, USA

    K. Fukumura

  10. Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA

    J. A. García

  11. ESA European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), Noordwijk, the Netherlands

    M. Guainazzi

  12. Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, Kashiwa, Japan

    K. Makishima

  13. Department of Physics, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    K. Makishima

  14. The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN), Wako, Japan

    K. Makishima

  15. Department of Physics, Saitama University, Saitama, Japan

    M. S. Tashiro

  16. Department of Physics, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    F. Tombesi

  17. INAF - Astronomical Observatory of Rome, Rome, Italy

    F. Tombesi

  18. Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    F. Tombesi

  19. NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA

    F. Tombesi

  20. Department of Astronomy, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Y. Ueda

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Contributions

M.D.T., T.K. and P.G. contributed equally to the main scientific content presented herein. P.G. led the conception, coordination and thematic definition of this work, together with participants of the XCalibur2019 international workshop in Winchester, UK, in July 2019. The focus of the workshop was to identify and review game-changing science to be expected in forthcoming microcalorimeter missions, serving as a genesis for this Review. J.A.P. executed the artistic design of the schematic diagram and contributed to the design of all other figures herein. T.K. is responsible for the ‘The accretion environment’ section and M.D.T. led the ‘Energy and matter feedback’ section. All authors read and contributed to the overall text.

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Correspondence to P. Gandhi, T. Kawamuro or M. Díaz Trigo.

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Gandhi, P., Kawamuro, T., Díaz Trigo, M. et al. Frontiers in accretion physics at high X-ray spectral resolution. Nat Astron 6, 1364–1375 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-022-01857-y

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