Multi Messenger Astrophysics
STROBE-X is the Multi-Messenger X-ray instrument. It has a large instantaneous field of view, down to a new, order-of-magnitude lower flux regime. It can provide immediate positions accurate enough for ground-based follow-up, the ability to do rapid high resolution and high sensitivity spectroscopy, and has exquisite timing capabilities.
Gravitational Waves and Compact Object Mergers:
- With positions immediately accurate to less than two arcminutes and a fast slew rate, STROBE-X has the capability to detect 10s of short duration gamma-ray bursts per year coincident with gravitational wave emission from binary neutrons star mergers or neutron star-black hole mergers.
- STROBE-X will be able to place constraints on the existence and lifetime of a supramassive or hypermassive neutron star following a binary neutron star merger.
- STROBE-X can detect modulated emission associated with mass transfer between two ultracompact white dwarf binaries, coincident with gravitational wave emission.
Gravitational Waves and SMBH and IMBH Object Mergers
- STROBE-X will be sensitive to the quasi-periodic X-ray emission precursors before Super Massive Black Hole (SMBH) and Intermediate Mass Black Hole (IMBH) mergers, as well as characteristic Fe-Kalpha line broadening, coincident with gravitational wave emission.
Neutrinos and Supernovae
- STROBE-X is sensitive to X-rays from supernova shock breakout shortly after the supernova's neutrinos are detected by next generation neutrino detectors.
Neutrinos and Jets
- STROBE-X is sensitive to the hard X-ray emission that are the necessary target photons for neutrinos in blazar jets, as well as jets from stellar mass central engines such as microquasars and GRBs.