Abstract

The Transient High-Energy Sky and Early Universe Surveyor (THESEUS) is a mission concept developed in the last years by a large European consortium and currently under study by the European Space Agency (ESA) as one of the three candidates for next M5 mission (launch in 2032). THESEUS aims at exploiting high-redshift GRBs for getting unique clues to the early Universe and, being an unprecedentedly powerful machine for the detection, accurate location (down to ∼arcsec) and redshift determination of all types of GRBs (long, short, high-z, under-luminous, ultra-long) and many other classes of transient sources and phenomena, at providing a substantial contribution to multi-messenger time-domain astrophysics. Under these respects, THESEUS will show a strong synergy with the large observing facilities of the future, like E-ELT, TMT, SKA, CTA, ATHENA, in the electromagnetic domain, as well as with next-generation gravitational-waves and neutrino detectors, thus greatly enhancing their scientific return.

Highlights

  • The main feature of the modern astrophysics is the rapid development of multi-messenger astronomy

  • A substantial contribution is expected from the Transient High Energy Sky and Early Universe Surveyor (THESEUS 1), a space mission concept developed by a large European consortium including Italy, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Poland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Ireland, Hungary, Slovenia, European Space Agency (ESA), with Lorenzo Amati (INAFOAS Bologna, Italy) as a lead proposer

  • We provide a short description of the Transient High-Energy Sky and Early Universe Surveyor (THESEUS) payload, comprising the soft X-ray Imager (SXI), X- and Gamma-rays Imaging Spectrometer (XGIS), and the InfraRed Telescope (IRT) instruments, in the following subsections

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Summary

Introduction

The main feature of the modern astrophysics is the rapid development of multi-messenger astronomy. Relevant open issues still affect our understanding of the cosmological epoch (a few millions years after the “big-bang”), at which first stars and galaxies start illuminating the Universe and reionizing the inter-galactic medium. In this context, a substantial contribution is expected from the Transient High Energy Sky and Early Universe Surveyor (THESEUS 1), a space mission concept developed by a large European consortium including Italy, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Poland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Ireland, Hungary, Slovenia, ESA, with Lorenzo Amati (INAFOAS Bologna, Italy) as a lead proposer. Details on the THESEUS science objectives, mission concept, and expected performances are reported in [1] and [2]

Scientific Objectives
Mission Concept and Payload
The soft X-ray imager
X- and gamma-ray imaging spectrometer
Infrared telescope
Early Universe with GRBs
Time-domain astronomy and GRB physics
Conclusions

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