Programme schedule

• 13:00 Welcome
• 13:10 – 13:20 Jiří Svoboda Brief overview of the Czech participation in ESA space projects
  

  The Czech Republic is actively involved in a wide range of scientific space missions led by the European Space Agency (ESA). This talk will provide a concise overview of these missions, with an emphasis on their scientific objectives and the Czech contributions to instrumentation and technology development.

• 13:20 – 13:30 Matteo Guainazzi ESA future large X-ray observatory: newATHENA
  

  A number of key questions in modern astrophysics require accurate measurement of astrophysical plasma in the high-energy (X-ray) domain. A number of these quests are at the core of the science case of NewAthena, the large X-ray observatory under study by the European Space Agency (ESA), to be launched in the second half of the 2030s: how ordinary matter assembles into large-scale structures; how black holes grow and shape their environment, as well as the cosmological evolution of the galaxies hosting them; how do baryons evolve from the epoch of structure formation to the current Universe; what drives the most energetic and explosive phenomena in the Universe; and what is the A number of key questions in modern astrophysics require accurate measurement of astrophysical plasma in the high-energy (X-ray) domain. A number of these quests are at the core of the science case of NewAthena, the large X-ray observatory under study by the European Space Agency (ESA), to be launched in the second half of the 2030s: how ordinary matter assembles into large-scale structures; how black holes grow and shape their environment, as well as the cosmological evolution of the galaxies hosting them; how do baryons evolve from the epoch of structure formation to the current Universe; what drives the most energetic and explosive phenomena in the Universe; and what is the nature of the electromagnetic counterparts of neutrino and gravitational wave sources. nature of the electromagnetic counterparts of neutrino and gravitational wave sources.

• 13:30 – 13:40 Marco Feroci Large Area Detectors for future X-ray mission
  
• 13:40 – 13:50 Norbert Werner QUVIK - Quick Ultra-Violet Kilonova surveyor
  
• 13:50 – 14:00 Giorgio Matt X-ray polarimetry with the IXPE mission
  

  A brief introduction to the IXPE mission and its most important results is provided.

• 14:00 – 14:10 Michal Dovčiak Czech scientific contribution to IXPE
  

  The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission, launched in December 2021, marks a milestone in X-ray astronomy by opening a new observational window into the study of high-energy astrophysical sources. Czech scientists have played a key role in the mission’s scientific program, with a focus on the theoretical modeling and interpretation of polarization signatures from black hole accretion flows. Our contributions include the development of relativistic ray-tracing codes tailored for polarization studies, simulation support for mission planning, and involvement in data analysis for key IXPE targets. In this talk, we will also present the Czech contribution to several new discoveries made possible by IXPE observations of well-known black hole X-ray binaries, such as Cyg X-1 and Cyg X-3, as well as newly identified sources like Swift J1727.8–1613.

• 14:10 – 14:20 Romana Mikušincová, Jakub Podgorný Benefits of international collaboration in space projects for students
  
• 14:20 – 14:30 Paolo Soffitta Beyond IXPE: Future Directions in X-ray Polarimetry
  

  The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) has opened a new window in X-ray astrophysics and astronomy, enabling groundbreaking discoveries and paving the way for future advancements in the field. However, IXPE's relatively narrow energy band and limited mirror area constrain its polarimetric capabilities to only the brightest sources, requiring long observation times (on the order of days or weeks). Furthermore, many astrophysical phenomena that demand broad energy coverage remain beyond IXPE's reach. These include binary pulsars with cyclotron resonance features, highly magnetized isolated neutron stars known as magnetars, and X-ray reflection from accretion disks in systems such as Active Galactic Nuclei, Galactic black hole binaries, and weakly magnetized neutron star binaries.
  In this talk, we will highlight the key scientific cases that strongly motivate the development of wide-band X-ray polarimetry. We will also present new detection concepts leveraging advanced electronics and outline an ongoing collaboration with Czech institutions aimed at realizing the next generation of X-ray polarimeters.

• 14:30 – 15:00 Coffee break
• 15:00 Award Ceremony: Ernst Mach Medal for Enrico Costa
• 15:15 – 16:15 Enrico Costa A Journey to the X-ray Polarimetry
  

  Since the start of X-Ray Astronomy theoretical analysis suggested that polarimetry would be a powerful diagnostic of the physics and geometry of the emitting regions. The first attempts to perform this measurement were performed a few years later, arriving to have a polarimeter onboard both Ariel-5 and OSO-8 satellites.
  X-Ray Astronomy had an great expansion with the introduction of optics that allowed for an enormous increase of sensitivity. This evolution was followed by an adequate expansion of imaging, spectroscopy and timing, while polarimetry was no more hosted aboard any mission. This was due to the meagre results of early experiments but mainly to the technical limits of available instrumentation that would not allow for a full exploitation of the optics.
  At the turn of the century we started the development of a new instrument based on the tracking of electron created for photoelectric effect in a gas. Eventually this concept was applied on a Small Explorer mission, in orbit since 2021.
  IXPE detected a complex phenomenology in X-ray sources belonging to almost all classes. Many results are not consistent with expectations from models built on spectroscopy data only. I present some data on SuperNovae Remnants, on Pulsar Wind Nebulae, on binary sources hosting a Black Hole of stellar mass, on Active Galactic Nuclei of different classes.
  Polarimetry is now a well-established tool of theoretical analysis in High Energy Astrophysics. But IXPE is a small mission with very serious limitation. We expect now a feedback from the theoretical analysis. How should we evolve. Do we need larger area? Or a broader band? At lower or at higher energies? Can we do any fundamental physics with this tools?
  Science is a continuous swap from data to theory and back in search of new data.