The Transient High Energy Sky and Early Universe Surveyor (THESEUS)
Abstract
The Transient High-Energy Sky and Early Universe Surveyor (THESEUS) is a space missionconcept, developed by a large international collaboration and recently selected by ESAfor a phase 0/A study within the Cosmic Vision - M5 selection process. THESEUS aims atexploiting Gamma-Ray Bursts for investigating the early Universe and at providing asubstantial advancement of multi-messenger and time-domain astrophysics, also in strongsinergy with the large observing facilities of the future. These goals will be achievedthrough a unique combination of instruments allowing GRBs and X-ray transients detectionover a broad FOV (more than 1sr) with 0.5-1 arcmin localization, an energy band extendingfrom several MeVs down to 0.3 keV and high sensitivity to transient sources in the softX-ray domain, as well as on-board prompt (few minutes) follow-up with a 0.7 m class IRtelescope with both imaging and spectroscopic capabilities. THESEUS will address mainopen issues in cosmology such as, e.g., star formation rate and metallicity evolution ofthe inter-stellar and intra-galactic medium up to redshift 10-12, signatures of Pop IIIstars, sources and physics of re-ionization, and the faint end of the galaxy luminosityfunction. In addition, THESEUS will provide a fundamental contribution to time-domain andmulti-messenger astrophysics by detecting, localizing, and identifying theelectromagnetic counterparts to sources of gravitational radiation, which will beroutinely detected in the late '20s / early '30s by next generation facilities likeaLIGO/aVirgo, eLISA, KAGRA, and Einstein Telescope and, more in general, of severalclasses of transient sources, providing an ideal sinergy also with the largemulti-wavelength observatories of the near future like LSST, ELT, TMT, SKA, CTA, ATHENA).
- Publication:
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AAS/High Energy Astrophysics Division
- Pub Date:
- March 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019HEAD...1730302A