Abstract
XMM is a third generation X-ray astronomy mission in which the artificial boundary between astronomy and astrophysics disappears. This long lived orbiting observatory brings sensitivity improvements of > 102 over existing missions (EINSTEIN, EXOSAT, ROSAT). It will be capable of finding and studying in detail either the furthest quasars and active galactic nuclei at the edge of the Universe or detecting the coronal emission from the faintest stars within the Galaxy. It is a multi-purpose high-throughput facility (2.4 m2 collecting power at 1 keV) consisting of two arrays of grazing incidence Wolter type 1 telescopes. The first, consisting of 20 telescopes (10 arcsec. on-axis resolution, 1° field of view and energy range up to 5 keV) will be more sensitive than AXAF for the rapid study of many classes of objects. The second array with 7 telescopes (30 arcsec. on-axis resolution, 0.5° field of view but an energy range extending to 10 keV with > 5 × 103 cm2 at 7 keV) will perform tests for spectral evolution in distant active galactic nuclei and studies of line emission with high sensitivity for a wide variety of sources. Both of them will perform spatially resolved high resolution spectroscopy of supernova remnants and clusters of galaxies. An assessment study of this mission is starting in ESA in January 1983.
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