The Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics
In response to the recent ESA call for science themes to define its future large missions, the X-ray astrophysics community has submitted a white paper (http://arxiv.org/abs/1306.2307) to promote the Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics (Athena+) mission. Athena+ provides the necessary performance (e.g. angular resolution, spectral resolution, survey grasp) to address a number of fundamental questions in modern astrophysics and revolutionize our understanding of the Hot and Energetic Universe. These capabilities will provide a powerful observatory to be used in all areas of astrophysics as illustrated by a series of
supporting papers, including one on star formation and evolution (http://arxiv.org/abs/1306.2333). In the field of massive stars, Athena+ will not only allow us to study many more objects with an unprecedented spectral resolution, but will also pioneer the study of the dynamics of
their X-ray emission via time-resolved high-resolution spectroscopy. In this way, Athena+ will be a unique tool to study small and large-scale structures in the winds of single massive stars, wind interactions in
massive binary systems, and many other topics. The Athena+ Science Working Group invites you to become a supporter of this project. You can do so by signing up at http://fs6.formsite.com/ATHENA2028/form2/index.html
Weblink: http://www.the-athena-x-ray-observatory.eu/
Email: rauw@astro.ulg.ac.be