Speaker
Description
The Einstein Probe (EP) is a space X-ray observatory designed to detect mainly high-energy transient and variable sources in the universe. It features a lobster-eye wide-field X-ray monitor with unprecedented sensitivity and spatial resolution in the soft X-ray band, and a conventional X-ray telescope to perform quick onboard follow-up observations. EP is a project led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in collaboration with ESA, MPE and CNES. Since its launch on January 9, 2024, EP has detected over 200 transients. Among these are more than 150 fast X-ray transients (previously only 30+ had been discovered), offering potential to unravel the origin mystery of such transients. Key scientific achievements include: Detecting the highest redshift fast X-ray transient, challenging conventional jet theories; Capturing several rare intermediate-mass black holes and over a thousand stellar X-ray flares (exceeding the previous global total); the identification of dozens of stellar-mass black holes, neutron stars, and white dwarfs. EP has also performed prompt follow-up observations of several gravitational wave and neutrino events. The scientific potential of EP in the context of multi-messenger astronomy will be discussed.
