Title: The Line Emission Mapper Probe Mission Concept

Abstract: I will present an overview of the Line Emission Mapper (LEM) mission concept that is under development in anticipation of NASA’s Astrophysics Probe Explorer (APEX) Announcement of Opportunity. LEM offers paradigm-changing capabilities in the broad science area of formation of structure and combines a wide-field, soft X-ray optic based on the Si-meta shell technology with a transition edge sensor microcalorimeter array at the focal plane (30’x30’ FOV, 0.2-2.0 keV band pass, 1500 cm2 at 0.5 keV, 1-2 eV spectral resolution). Our mission is developed to address key questions outlined in the Astro2020 Decadal under the broad heading of Cosmic Ecosystems. Our primary science will be to map in emission the temperature, entropy, elemental abundance, and velocity structure from diffuse gas in the extended X-ray haloes in galaxies, the outskirts of galaxy clusters and the filamentary structures between these clusters, and in the Milky Way star formation regions and Galactic halo, and Galactic and Local Group supernova remnants. The combination of a wide-field optic and a microcalorimeter focal plane array with 1-2 eV spectral resolution offers unprecedented sensitivity to extended low-surface brightness X-ray emission allowing us to study feedback processes, gas dynamics, and metal enrichment over six orders of magnitude in spatial scales from pc to Mpcs. More importantly, LEM will provide the international X-ray astrophysics community with a powerful new tool for transformative observations in the areas of active galaxies, stellar astrophysics, planetary sciences, time domain and multi-messenger astrophysics. In this presentation I will discuss the LEM mission architecture, the science that is driving our design choices, and outline the broad scope of potential guest observer investigations.

Astro Colloquium and 'coffee & cookies' department gathering (3:45-4:00pm)

Please click the link to join virtually: https://psu.zoom.us/j/92637070419