Speaker
Description
The Einstein Probe (EP) is a space mission dedicated to X-ray time-domain astrophysics, and is to be launched in the near future. It carries two instruments. One is a wide-field X-ray telescope (WXT) with a 3600 square-degree FoV and moderate angular resolution of 5arcmin (fwhm) operating in the 0.5-4keV soft X-ray band. The other is a Wolter-I X-ray telescope (FXT) for deep follow-up observations in 0.3-10keV and precise source locating. The WXT is an imaging telescope making use of novel X-ray focusing technology of lobster-eye micro-pore optics, which improves the sensitivity and angular resolution over the previous and current X-ray monitors. Transient alerts will be issued quickly to trigger follow-up observations. The Einstein Probe is a mission of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in collaboration with ESA, MPE and CNES. This talk will introduce the mission and its current status. Initial results from the EP-WXT pathfinder mission LEIA will also be briefly presented.
