AXIS Special Session at the 245th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society
A special session was held on January 13, 2025, at the 245th meeting of the American Astronomical Society: The Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS), A Next Generation X-ray Satellite for the 2030s and beyond.
The Advanced X-ray Imagine Satellite (AXIS), a next-generation high-throughput X-ray imaging mission, was recently selected by the NASA Astrophysics Probe program for Phase A study. AXIS will extend and enhance the science of high angular resolution X-ray imaging and spectroscopy in the next decade with a ~1.5” angular resolution over a wide 24’ field of view and an order of magnitude more collecting area than Chandra in the 0.3-12 keV band, while providing rapid response capabilities for follow-up of faint, but powerful transients discovered with next-generation TDAMM observatories. AXIS will open new windows on the hot and dynamic Universe, revealing the birth and early growth of supermassive black holes and their impact on galaxies, the drivers behind the most powerful and diverse explosive events in the Universe, and the aftermath or diversity of compact stellar remnants. AXIS has specifically been designed to match the capabilities of 2030s multi-wavelength facilities, including Roman, ELTs, LSST, SKA, ALMA, NewAthena, and CTA. AXIS utilizes breakthroughs in constructing lightweight X-ray optics from mono-crystalline silicon blocks and developments in the fabrication of large format, low noise, and high readout rate detectors, allowing a robust and cost-effective design. This session will give an overview of the AXIS mission and instrumentation and highlight exciting science cases. There will be a specific emphasis on the Guest Observer science potential and how the community can get involved in the AXIS mission.