Speaker
Description
HiZ-GUNDAM is a proposed JAXA-led mission for the 2030s designed to explore the early Universe through observations of high-redshift gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Rapid discovery and characterization of high-energy transient phenomena are essential for identifying electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational-wave events, hidden neutrino sources, and distant GRBs. By combining wide-field soft X-ray monitoring with prompt optical/near-infrared follow-up observations, HiZ-GUNDAM will provide a powerful platform for multimessenger astronomy while probing early star formation in the high-redshift Universe.
To achieve these goals, HiZ-GUNDAM carries the wide-field soft X-ray monitor EAGLE and the optical/near-infrared telescope MONSTER. EAGLE employs Lobster-Eye micro pore optics (MPO) coupled with pnCCD detectors to monitor 0.53 sr of the sky in the 0.4–4.0 keV band and provide arcminute-class localizations of newly discovered transients.
MONSTER performs simultaneous five-band photometric observations over the 0.5–2.5 μm range with a 30-cm aperture, enabling rapid characterization of transients and identification of high-redshift candidates.
Development activities are progressing for both mission instruments. For EAGLE, the development of the MPO system has progressed through prototype construction and X-ray beam tests, which demonstrated the required imaging performance with aligned MPO assemblies. Detector studies using a dedicated pnCCD readout system have confirmed basic X-ray detection and spectroscopic capabilities. For MONSTER, simulations and onboard processing studies are being carried out to optimize the identification of high-redshift GRB candidates and the selection of follow-up targets.
In this talk, we present an overview of the HiZ-GUNDAM mission, its scientific objectives, recent R&D progress, and roadmap toward mission realization.
