A Broad Band and Large Area X-Ray Omni Sky Monitor (BLOSM)

All sky monitors (ASMs) have been an integral part of X-ray astronomy instrumentation in the last three decades. In this paper we will present a conceptual design and a practical implementation of a one-dimensionally focusing ASM using the lobster eye optics. Compared with previously flown and currently existing ASMs, it has the following characteristics: (1) focusing capability to lower background; (2) an order of magnitude larger in effective area; (3) broad band sensitivity: 200 eV to 10 keV; and (4) true all sky coverage. With these characteristics, it is capable of detecting gamma ray bursts, X-ray bursts from galactic X-ray binaries, and expected X-ray bursts preceding type-II supernovae, as well as monitoring the long-term behaviors of a large number X-ray sources. In this talk, we will report our progress in identifying suitable X-ray reflectors for this purpose and the potential scientific impact that such an ASM may have in the understanding of gamma ray bursts, low-mass black holes formed by accretion-induced collapses of neutron stars in low-mass X-ray binaries, and its potential for measuring the Type-II supernova birth rate.