Abstract for Proposal 090067

The first X-ray polarimetry and spectroscopy observations of GRS 1915+105

We propose three 30ks XMM-Newton/EPIC-pn exposures contemporaneous with three 20ks NuSTAR exposures of the black hole (BH) X-ray binary (XRB) GRS 1915+105, to be taken during an IXPE (the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) observation of the source. A 250ks IXPE exposure of GRS 1915+105 is scheduled for April 2022, and we have an accepted AO20 XMM+NuSTAR (ID 088100) proposal. The current proposal is only to cover the eventuality of a delay to the IXPE programme pushing the GRS 1915+105 observation into the AO21 cycle. The high spectral resolution and broad band pass provided by XMM+NuSTAR coverage will be vital for breaking degeneracies in our polarization models. We will use MAXI and Swift/XRT monitoring to determine whether to setup the EPIC-pn in timing or burst mode.



Details on Observing Strategy and Trigger Criteria
There are no triggering criteria available for this proposal yet.