EXPO: a quantum leap in fast, wide-band X-ray polarimetry for astrophysics

@misc{soffitta2026expo,
  title = {{EXPO: a quantum leap in fast, wide-band X-ray polarimetry for astrophysics}},
  author = {Paolo Soffitta and Sebastien Guillot and Ian Hutchinson and Fabio Muleri and Mark Pearce and Andrea Santangelo and Daniele Spiga and Ivan Agudo and Gino Bruno Amata and Jaroslaw Bakala and Elisabetta Baracchini and Stefano Basso and Jorg Bayer and Benedikt Bergmann and Jaroslaw Borek and Enrico Bozzo and Soren Krinstian Brandt and Carl Budtz-Jorgensen and Vadim Burwitz and Stefano Cesare and Jerome Chenevez and Enrico Costa and Elisa Costantini and Vincenzo Cotroneo and Walter Cugno and Riccardo Ferrazzoli and Nicolas De Angelis and Desiree Della Monica Ferreira and Klaus Desch and Giorgio Dho and Giuseppe Di Persio and Sergio Fabiani and Davide Fiorina and Szymon Gburek and Markus Gruber and Allan Hornstrup and Jennifer Jones and Jochen Kaminski and Mozsi Kiss and Irfan Kuvvetli and Carlo Lefevre and Hannah Lerman and Honghui Liu and Pasqualino Loffredo and Niels Lund and Hemanth Manikantan and Melissa McHugh and Paul O'Brien and Stephane Paltani and Giovanni Pareschi and Stefano Piacentini and Vladislavs Plesanovs and John Rankin and Ajay Ratheesh and Selina Ringsborg Howalt Owe and Alda Rubini and Miguel Andres Sanchez Carrasco and Emanuele Scalise and Konrad R. Skup and Gianpiero Tagliaferri},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = aug,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2608.20898},
  eprint = {2608.20898},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.20898},
}

TY  - UNPB
TI  - EXPO: a quantum leap in fast, wide-band X-ray polarimetry for astrophysics
AU  - Paolo Soffitta
AU  - Sebastien Guillot
AU  - Ian Hutchinson
AU  - Fabio Muleri
AU  - Mark Pearce
AU  - Andrea Santangelo
AU  - Daniele Spiga
AU  - Ivan Agudo
AU  - Gino Bruno Amata
AU  - Jaroslaw Bakala
AU  - Elisabetta Baracchini
AU  - Stefano Basso
AU  - Jorg Bayer
AU  - Benedikt Bergmann
AU  - Jaroslaw Borek
AU  - Enrico Bozzo
AU  - Soren Krinstian Brandt
AU  - Carl Budtz-Jorgensen
AU  - Vadim Burwitz
AU  - Stefano Cesare
AU  - Jerome Chenevez
AU  - Enrico Costa
AU  - Elisa Costantini
AU  - Vincenzo Cotroneo
AU  - Walter Cugno
AU  - Riccardo Ferrazzoli
AU  - Nicolas De Angelis
AU  - Desiree Della Monica Ferreira
AU  - Klaus Desch
AU  - Giorgio Dho
AU  - Giuseppe Di Persio
AU  - Sergio Fabiani
AU  - Davide Fiorina
AU  - Szymon Gburek
AU  - Markus Gruber
AU  - Allan Hornstrup
AU  - Jennifer Jones
AU  - Jochen Kaminski
AU  - Mozsi Kiss
AU  - Irfan Kuvvetli
AU  - Carlo Lefevre
AU  - Hannah Lerman
AU  - Honghui Liu
AU  - Pasqualino Loffredo
AU  - Niels Lund
AU  - Hemanth Manikantan
AU  - Melissa McHugh
AU  - Paul O'Brien
AU  - Stephane Paltani
AU  - Giovanni Pareschi
AU  - Stefano Piacentini
AU  - Vladislavs Plesanovs
AU  - John Rankin
AU  - Ajay Ratheesh
AU  - Selina Ringsborg Howalt Owe
AU  - Alda Rubini
AU  - Miguel Andres Sanchez Carrasco
AU  - Emanuele Scalise
AU  - Konrad R. Skup
AU  - Gianpiero Tagliaferri
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2608.20898
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.20898
AB  - The Enhanced X-ray Polarimetry Observatory (EXPO) is a mission concept proposed to ESA as an M8 candidate, with a prospective launch in 2041. Building on the scientific success of IXPE, EXPO is designed to overcome its two main limitations, the narrow 2-8 keV energy band and the very slow repointing time, and to enable new scientific capabilities. A wide energy band and fast repointing are essential for investigating the hard X-ray emission of magnetars and black-hole binaries, particle acceleration in supernova remnants and pulsar-wind nebulae, radiative transfer in highly magnetized plasmas, X-ray reflection in accretion flows and active galactic nuclei, and the prompt and afterglow emission of gamma-ray bursts and magnetar flares. EXPO comprises five focusing X-ray telescopes and gas photoelectric polarimeters based on the Timepix ASIC family with InGrid amplification, enabling three-dimensional track imaging and operation in the 2-35 keV band through optimized low- and medium-energy detector configurations. The mirror modules use proven electroformed nickel technology with Au-C coatings and an XMM-like focal length of 7.5 m. The polarimeters are complemented by a coded-mask Wide Field Instrument (WFI), derived from SVOM/ECLAIRs for continuous monitoring of a 2 sr field of view; a Spectral Imaging Camera (SIC), based on stacked CMOS and CdTe detectors for broadband imaging spectroscopy and accurate spectro-polarimetric decomposition; and an Instrument Control Unit (ICU) for payload management, onboard WFI image reconstruction, transient identification, and autonomous spacecraft repointing requests. These capabilities extend X-ray polarimetry into the hard X-ray domain and open a new observational window on fast transients, time-domain astrophysics, and multi-messenger astronomy.
ER  -