Arcus
I am the PI of
Arcus, a high
resolution X-ray grating spectrometer mission to be proposed to
NASA as a MIDEX in 2016. A mission with similar goals was
previously proposed as a SMEX on ISS in 2014. Arcus will observe
astrophysical phenomena over an incredibly broad range, in a
sorely underutilized bandpass. Its mission includes investigations
from small scales to the largest, including the composition of
minute interstellar dust grains, stellar evolution, feedback from
supermassive black holes, and structure formation in galaxy
clusters. Using technologies developed for ESA's Athena mission
and in the world-class laboratories of the University of Iowa and
MIT/Lincoln Labs, Arcus will achieve resolution R (=
λ/Δλ) ~ 3000 over its ~10-50 Å bandpass,
an improvement of an order of magnitude over existing or approved
observatories. After a short calibration period after launch in
2023, it will operate as a general observatory to which all
members of the scientific community are strongly encouraged to
apply.
