SESSION 1

 

Norbert Schartel

Title: 20th Launch Anniversary of XMM-Newton: Scientific Achievements and Perspectives

Abstract:
With about 350 refereed papers published each year, XMM-Newton is one of the most successful scientific missions of ESA ever. The talk summarizes the status of the mission and introduces the main performance indicators, which characterize the scientific impact. The talk gives then an overview of recent research highlights, which are indicative of the main developments of current X-ray astronomy. Finally, the talk outlines possible research and observational challenges for XMM-Newton in the next decade.

 

Megan Donahue

Title: Advancing Cluster Science with XMM-Newton

Abstract:

I will review some of the XMM discoveries related to hot gas surrounding galaxies and clusters of galaxies, and what we have learned from these discoveries about how galaxies work. Studies of the hot gas map how energy, entropy, and metals are blown out of galaxies and circulate with infalling intergalactic material. I will show how even at age 20 XMM observations are important for these types of studies, especially if we can map out the circumgalactic and intergalactic medium inside a select sample of relatively nearby clusters and groups of galaxies for which we can also have constraints on the radio, cool and ionized gas components.

 

SESSION 2

 

Suvi Gezari

Title: XMM Follow-up of Tidal Disruption Events from the Zwicky Transient Facility

Abstract:

The tidal disruption of a star by a central supermassive black hole originated as a theoretical concept, but is now a routine observational reality.  Nuclear transients are being discovered by a rich landscape of optical time domain surveys (in alphabetical order: ASAS-SN, ATLAS, Gaia, PanSTARRS, TESS, ZTF) and are being followed-up with space and ground-based facilities across the electromagnetic spectrum.  I will present our first crop of tidal disruption events (TDEs) from the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), and the surprising soft X-ray behavior that has been revealed by our X-ray follow-up observations with Swift and XMM-Newton, which provide a direct view of the newly forming accretion disk in these systems.

 

Randall Smith

Title: Measuring Dust Properties from High Energy X-ray Halos

Abstract:

Interstellar (IS) dust grains are an integral part of IS evolution in galaxies, and our knowledge of their properties has primarily derived from observations of the UV/optical extinction, infrared emission, and polarization from grains. But we can also learn about grains by studying small-angle X-ray scattering in dust grains along the line of sight.  This phenomenon creates X-ray halos that are strongly affected by the size distribution of the grains, and to a lesser extent their position, composition, and shape. I will describe how X-ray observations with XMM-Newton and other telescopes have been used to survey Galactic X-ray halos to answer the many outstanding questions about IS dust grains, such as the total grain mass, density, and composition.  Combining this X-ray halo data with the other UV, optical, and IR observations have allowed us to place tight constraints on all dust models.

 

SESSION 4

 

Neil Brandt

Title: The XMM-SERVS Survey of the LSST Deep Drilling Fields

Abstract:

The large effective area, wide field-of-view, good angular resolution, and broad bandpass of XMM-Newton make it a powerful survey facility at moderate X-ray depths around 10^{-15} erg/cm^2/s. After briefly reviewing some past survey successes of XMM-Newton, I will describe an aggressive ongoing moderate-depth survey in the LSST Deep Drilling Fields: XMM-SERVS. Ultimately, this survey should include ~ 12000 AGNs and ~ 760 X-ray groups/clusters in XMM-LSS, W-CDF-S, ELAIS-S1, and COSMOS, allowing studies of supermassive black hole (SMBH) growth across the full range of cosmic environments and SMBH/galaxy connections. These four fields should also provide incredible legacy value as LSST/DES Deep Drilling Fields, MOONS/PFS fields for massive spectroscopic follow-up, TolTEC/ALMA submillimeter fields, and multi-object reverberation mapping fields.

 

Lynn Cominsky

Title: The XMM-Newton Education and Public Outreach program

Abstract:

For a decade, Sonoma State University ran a very successful program that engaged students, teachers and members of the general public in exploring the amazing science from XMM-Newton. Highlights include the creation of an interactive spelling game centered around a black hole, an interactive laboratory for high school and college students to explore the creation of the elements by analyzing x-ray data from Cas A, and workshops for science teachers led by master teachers called Educator Ambassadors. XMM-Newton E/PO also supported the creation of an educator's guide to supernovae and pulsars, as well as a supernova toolkit for amateur astronomers to use at star parties. These activities and their impacts will be discussed.

 

Brian Williams

Title: Advancements in the Study of Supernova Remnants Enabled by XMM-Newton

Abstract:

The remnants of supernovae are among the most spectacular objects in the X-ray sky, with exquisite extended structures that vary from one remnant to the next. The material ejected in a supernova explosion seeds the cosmos with the heavy elements necessary to form new stars, planets, and life itself. As shockwaves race through the interstellar medium at thousands of kilometers per second, plasma is heated to temperatures of millions of degrees, making them prime targets for observatories like XMM-Newton. In this talk, I will review some highlights from 20 years of XMM-Newton observations of supernovae and supernova remnants in the galaxy and the nearby universe.

 

SESSION 5

 

Richard Griffiths

Title: The Early Days of XMM and the Importance of the Science Working Team

Abstract:

A brief review is given of the developments in the late 1970's and 1980's leading to the concept of a High Throughput X-ray Spectroscopy Mission as a Cornerstone in the ESA Horizon 2000 program. The ESA AO process is described and compared with the NASA process. The possible instrumentation for XMM is briefly summarized and the work of the Science Working Team is reviewed. The role of the SWT in guiding the project is illustrated with a few examples.

 

Craig Sarazin

Title: Clusters of Galaxies: Highlights from 20 Years of XMM-Newton

Abstract:

I will start by mentioning my personal involvement with XMM-Newton, as chair of the NASA XMM-Newton Users' Group and a member of the ESA XMM-Newton Users' Group.  I will note the great contribution to cluster science made by the development of the ESAS Extended Source Analysis Software at GSFC and thank Steve Snowden and Kip Kuntz for this very important contribution.  The bulk of the talk will highlight a few of the most important scientific results from XMM-Newton observations of clusters.

 

Brendan Perry

Title: Early XMM Guest Observer Facility Perspectives

Abstract:

This talk will cover the history of the early days of XMM-Newton from the perspective of someone who has been involved from “day one”. Topics include the milestones and the history of the GSFC Guest Observer Facility (GOF), software development, coordination with the SOC and other personal reflections.

 

Smita Mathur

Title: XMM-Newton Studies of the Circumgalactic Medium of the Milky Way.

Abstract:
The circumgalactic medium (CGM) is a an important of a galaxy, at the interface between the intergalactic medium and the galactic disk. Most of the mass of a galaxy is a hot phase, so can be probed by X-ray emission and absorption. I'll discuss the strides we have made in understanding the physics of the CGM of the Milky Way using Chandra and XMM.

 

SESSION 6

 

Laura Brenneman

Title: Two Decades of Measuring Supermassive Black Hole Spins with XMM-Newton

Abstract:
In 2006, Brenneman & Reynolds created the first publicly available model in XSPEC to measure the angular momentum of a black hole.  Applying this new model to the bright NLS1 galaxy MCG--6-30-15, the authors measured the spin of a supermassive black hole for the first time, finding it to be rapidly rotating: a>0.98.  This discovery paved the way for a slew of subsequent research on black hole spin in AGN, resulting in more advanced accretion disk models, more complete relativistic ray-tracing models, and robust spin constraints for the SMBHs in ~30 AGN.  I will discuss the challenge of developing the original KERRDISK model, the improvements to the original model that have been made since, the current landscape of black hole spins in AGN, and future prospects in this area of research with forthcoming X-ray missions.

 

Eric Gotthelf

Title: 20 Years of Discovery and Monitoring of Pulsars with XMM-Newton

Abstract:

I will review the range of observations and results obtained over the last 20 years with XMM for rotation-powered pulsars, magnetars and anti-magnetars, the isolated neutron stars, and non-accreting binaries.

 

SESSION 7

 

Frits Paerels

Title: Solid State Astrophysics and the RGS

Abstract:

High resolution spectroscopy with XMM and Chandra opened up a very interesting perspective on the Interstellar Medium. The topic is intimately intertwined with the story of the development of the RGS. The talk will touch on the value of 'testing early and often' in the development of instrumentation, the role of laboratory astrophysics, and the physical chemistry of the interstellar medium.

 

Gerard Kriss

Title: X-ray and UV Monitoring Campaigns Reveal the Structure and Dynamics of AGN Outflows

Abstract:
Coordinated observations of AGN outflows using XMM-Newton and HST have revealed strongly variable X-ray obscuration accompanied by broad, fast, blue-shifted UV absorption features. Prime recent examples with well-studied X-ray and UV spectra include NGC 3783, NGC 5548, and Mrk 335. The X-ray "obscurers" absorb much of the low-energy X-ray spectrum, leaving few spectral features to provide physical diagnostics. The UV absorbers provide a wealth of spectral information on the ionization state and the kinematics of the outflow. From long-term monitoring of NGC 5548 and NGC 3783 over the past two decades, we find that the kinematic structure and the equivalent widths of the broad lines have evolved in response to long-term variations in the continuum intensity. The evolution of the structure of their broad emission line regions correlates with the triggering of X-ray obscuration events. The appearances of X-ray obscuration in 2012 in NGC 5548 and in 2016 in NGC 3783 correspond with an increase in the nuclear flux following extended low states. We suggest that the obscurer is a disk wind triggered by the brightening of the central engines in these AGN as the shrunken broad-line regions that developed during the preceding low-luminosity states become re-inflated.

 

Kip Kuntz

Title: Another Man's Treasure: Solar Wind Charge Exchange and XMM-Newton

Abstract:

Due to its large grasp and strong soft response, XMM might be seen as a logical successor to ROSAT, particularly when it comes to the study of large-scale diffuse emission. Indeed, some of the most frustrating observational problems revealed near the end of the ROSAT mission were revealed by XMM to be even more difficult than we had anticipated. Efforts to characterize the particle background revealed strong solar wind charge exchange (SWCX) emission, a strongly temporally variable foreground component that emits in the same strong lines that we want to use to diagnose the temperature of the Galactic halo. The very existence of SWCX called into question the reality of the Local Hot Bubble, whose characterization had been a particular success for ROSAT. Efforts to characterize the particle background revealed just how unpredictable the SWCX emission is. However, the problem has led to cross-disciplinary collaborations with heliophysics and planetary science. Although SWCX emission has generated its own field of study, with its own tools and missions, XMM continues to make significant contributions to understanding SWCX. Now, even heliophysics students are learning how to use astrophysical observatories!

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