EXTP is a science mission designed to study the state of matter under extreme conditions of density, gravity and magnetism. Primary goals are the determination of the equation of state of matter at supra-nuclear density, the measurement of QED effects in highly magnetized star, and the study of accretion in the strong-field regime of gravity. Primary targets include isolated and binary neutron stars, strong magnetic field systems like magnetars, and stellar-mass and supermassive black holes. The mission carries a unique and unprecedented suite of state-of-the-art scientific instruments enabling for the first time ever the simultaneous spectral-timing-polarimetry studies of cosmic sources in the energy range from 0.5-30 keV (and beyond). Key elements of the payload are: the Spectroscopic Focusing Array (SFA) - a set of 11 X-ray optics for a total effective area of ∼0.9 m² and 0.6 m² at 2 keV and 6 keV respectively, equipped with Silicon Drift Detectors offering <180 eV spectral resolution; the Large Area Detector (LAD) - a deployable set of 640 Silicon Drift Detectors, for a total effective area of ∼3.4 m², between 6 and 10 keV, and spectral resolution better than 250 eV; the Polarimetry Focusing Array (PFA) – a set of 2 X-ray telescope, for a total effective area of 250 cm² at 2 keV, equipped with imaging gas pixel photoelectric polarimeters; the Wide Field Monitor (WFM) - a set of 3 coded mask wide field units, equipped with position-sensitive Silicon Drift Detectors, each covering a 90 degrees x 90 degrees field of view. The eXTP international consortium includes major institutions of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Universities in China, as well as major institutions in several European countries and the United States. The predecessor of eXTP, the XTP mission concept, has been selected and funded as one of the so-called background missions in the Strategic Priority Space Science Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences since 2011. The strong European participation has significantly enhanced the scientific capabilities of eXTP. The planned launch date of the mission is earlier than 2025.

Using the archival data from the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer, we study the evolution of the Crab pulsar’s X-ray profile in a time span of 11 years. The X-ray profiles, as characterized by a few parameters, changed slightly, but with high statistical significance in these years: the separation of the two peaks increased with a rate of 0.°88 ± 0.°20 per century, the flux ratio of the second pulse to the first pulse decreased by per century, and the pulse widths of the two pulses represented by their full widths at half maxima decreased by and per century, respectively. The evolutionary trends of the X-ray profile are similar to that observed in radio, but with quantitative differences. Finally, we briefly discuss the constraints of these X-ray properties on the geometry of the emission region of this pulsar.

We describe the timing system and the timing calibration results of the three payloads on board the Insight-Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (Insight-HXMT). These three payloads are the High Energy X-ray telescope (HE; 20–250 keV), the Medium Energy X-ray telescope (ME; 5–30 keV), and the Low Energy X-ray telescope (LE; 1–10 keV). We present a method to correct the temperature-dependent period response and the long-term variation of the onboard crystal oscillator, especially for ME, which does not carry a temperature-compensated crystal oscillator. The times of arrival (ToAs) of the Crab pulsar are measured to evaluate the accuracy of the timing system. As the ephemeris of the Crab pulsar given by the Jodrell Bank Observatory has systematic errors around (Rots et al. 2004) 40 μs, we use the quasi-simultaneous observations of the X-ray Timing Instrument (XTI) on board the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) to produce the Crab ephemerides and to verify the timing system of Insight-HXMT. The energy-dependent ToAs’ offsets relative to the NICER measurements including the physical and instrumental origins are about 24.7 μs, 10.1 μs, and 864.7 μs, and the systematic errors of the timing system are determined to be 12.1 μs, 8.6 μs, and 15.8 μs, for HE, ME, and LE, respectively.

We present the analysis of the brightest flare that was recorded in the Insight-HMXT data set in a broad energy range (2–200 keV) from the microquasar GRS 1915+105 during an unusual low-luminosity state. This flare was detected by Insight-HXMT among a series of flares during 2019 June 2 UTC 16:37:06–20:11:36 with a 2–200 keV luminosity of 3.4–7.27 × 10³⁸ erg s⁻¹. Basing on the broadband spectral analysis, we find that the flare spectrum shows different behaviors during bright and faint epochs. The spectrum of the flare can be fitted with a model dominated by a power-law component. Additional components show up in the bright epoch with a hard tail and in the faint epoch with an absorption line of ∼6.78 keV. The reflection component of the latter is consistent with an inner disk radius ∼five times larger than that of the former. These results on the giant flare during the “unusual” low-luminosity state of GRS 1915+105 may suggest that the source experiences a possible fast transition from a jet-dominated state to a wind-dominated state. We speculate that the evolving accretion disk and the large-scale magnetic field may play important roles in this peculiar huge flare.