Scientific workshop on the eXTP mission

31 Aug 2026, 08:00 → 2 Sept 2026, 18:50 Europe/Helsinki

Radisson Blu Marina Palace Hotel

We are delighted to announce the upcoming Conference on the science at the core of the enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry Mission (eXTP), dedicated to the rapidly advancing spectral-timing-polarimetry in X-ray astronomy and to discuss about the scientific vision of the eXTP mission.
The eXTP mission is an ambitious international space mission designed to explore the most extreme environments in the Universe - probing matter under ultra-dense conditions, testing the limits of gravity, and unveiling the physics of strongly magnetized systems. Now fully approved and entering its implementation phase, eXTP is scheduled for launch in the early 2030.
This conference will highlight the scientific opportunities of eXTP as presented in the newly released series of six updated white papers, including the overall mission overview (WP1) and five key science areas (WPs 2–6) (Science China special issue). 

The sessions will explore eXTP’s capabilities to:
    • Constrain the equation of state of ultra-dense matter in neutron stars.
    • Probe strong gravity and the inner accretion regions around black holes through combined spectral, timing, and polarimetric observations.
    • Investigate quantum electrodynamics effects and radiative processes in extreme magnetic fields.
    • Enable time-domain and multi-messenger astrophysics, in synergy with future observatories across the electromagnetic and gravitational-wave spectrum.
    • Serve as a world-class observatory, providing groundbreaking data on a wide range of galactic and extragalactic sources.

The conference will also include discussions on other science aspects relevant to eXTP and to other missions concepts developed to advance X-ray spectral-timing-polarimetry in the next decade. It will also be an occasion to define the framework for community participation in the mission’s scientific operations.
The program will consist of invited, contributed, and 3-minute flash talks. We warmly invite scientists from all areas of high-energy astrophysics, space instrumentation, and theoretical modeling to join us in this pivotal meeting as we look ahead to the eXTP era.

The conference will take place from 31 August to 2 September 2026 at the Radisson Blu Marina Palace Hotel, in Turku, Finland. We kindly invite you to mark this event in your calendar. Further details regarding the venue, travel, registration, abstract submission, and fees can be found on the conference webpage at https://indico.global/e/extp_workshop. 

Have questions? Feel free to contact us at   extp2026@gmail.com

We very much look forward to welcoming you to Turku.

Scientific Organizing Committee:

• Cosimo Bambi

• Enrico Bozzo

• Qingcui Bu

• Simone Dall’Osso

• Alessandra De Rosa

• Hua Feng (co-chair)

• Marco Feroci

• Mingyu Ge

• Sebastien Guillot

• Margarita Hernanz

• Long Ji

• Ang Li

• Jirong Mao

• Kirpal Nandra (co-chair)

• Alessandro Patruno

• Juri Poutanen

• Andrea Santangelo (co-chair)

• Giulia Stratta

• Roberto Taverna

• Sergey Tsygankov 

• Phil Uttley

• Anna Watts

• Renxin Xu

• Shuxu Yi

• Shuang-Nan Zhang (co-chair)

• Liang Zhang

• Wen Zhao

• Ping Zhou

Local Organizing Committee:

• Anna Bobrikova

• Sofia Forsblom

• Vadim Kravtsov

• Hongwei Liu (co-chair)

• Alexander Mushtukov

• Juri Poutanen 

• Alexander Salganik 

• Sergey Tsygankov (co-chair)

• Alexandra Veledina 

• Hua Xiao 

 

agenda_extp_workshop.pdf

extp_program_04.08.2026.pdf

Monday 31 August

08:00 Registration

Opening

1 Welcome

Speaker: Shuang-Nan Zhang

2 Practical information

Speaker: Sergey Tsygankov

eXTP and its era

3 Update on the eXTP Mission for Launch in 2030

Speaker: Shuang-Nan Zhang

4 eXTP as a global mission: payload, science and organization

Speaker: Feng Hua

5 Overall Design and Development Progress of eXTP platform

Speaker: Yonghe Zhang

6 eXTP Mission Overview: Architecture and Development Status

Speaker: Jianhua Zheng

7 International collaboration of the eXTP mission

Speaker: Hongwei Liu

10:35 Coffee break

eXTP and its era

8 W2C and CXBe on eXTP: new design, performance and science questions

Speaker: Roland Walter

9 The Globe Orbiting Soft X-ray Polarimeter (GOSoX)

Speaker: Herman Marshall

10 All Sky Monitoring at X-rays: what comes next?

Speaker: Marco Feroci

Ultra dense matter

11 Introducing the science case for the WG1 (Ultra dense matter)

Speaker: Sebastien Guillot

12 Neutron Star Interiors in the eXTP Era: From Macroscopic Observables to Microphysics

Speaker: Ang Li

13 Constraining the equation of state of ultra-dense matter in neutron stars

Speaker: Tuomo Salmi

13:00 Lunch break

Ultra dense matter

14 Pulse profile modelling of accreting millisecond pulsars: disk occultation and parameter inference

Speaker: Yinghan Mao

15 Equation-of-state-informed pulse profile modeling

Speaker: Mariska Hoogkamer

16 Polarised X-ray emission from accreting millisecond pulsars

Speaker: Alessandro Papitto

17 Accreting Millisecond X-ray Pulsars as Laboratories for eXTP-era Spectral and Timing Studies

Speaker: Andrea Sanna

Flash talks: WG1

18 Pulse profile modelling of accreting millisecond pulsars before and during the eXTP era

Speaker: Bas Dorsman

19 Evidence for distinct evolutionary channels in neutron star LMXBs: prospects for eXTP

Speaker: Alessandro Patruno

20 Neutron star thermal evolution and inner structure

Speaker: Xia Zhou

15:25 Coffee break

Toward innovative spectral-timing-polarization analysis

21 The power of spectral-timing-polarimetry analysis

Speaker: Adam Ingram

22 X-ray spectral-timing of accreting black holes: current challenges and prospects for the eXTP era

Speaker: Guglielmo Mastroserio

23 Phase-Resolved Spectroscopy and Polarimetry of Black-Hole QPOs via Mode Decomposition: Evidence for Precession and Prospects with eXTP

Speaker: Qingcang Shui

24 nDspec: a new Python-based modelling software for multi-dimensional model fitting

Speaker: Matteo Lucchini

18:00 Reception at the Tuorla observatory

Bus leaves at 18:00

Tuesday 1 September

Strong field gravity

25 Introducing the science case for the WG2 (Strong field gravity)

Speaker: Qingcui Bu

26 Probe the inner accretion regions around stellar-mass black holes

Speaker: Bei You

27 Probing the inner regions around black holes with spectroscopy, timing and polarimetry

Speaker: Giorgio Matt

28 Accretion geometry of black hole X-ray binaries revealed by X-ray data

Speaker: Honghui Liu

29 Variability from accreting black holes across the full X-ray band

Speaker: Niek Bollemeijer

10:40 Coffee break

Strong field gravity

30 The Promise of eXTP for mapping the evolution of accretion flows in X-ray Binaries

Speaker: Lian Tao

31 Bridging simulations and observations: advancing X-ray spectral models with GRMHD

Speaker: Swarnim Shashank

32 X-ray polarimetry as a tool to study compact objects

Speaker: Juri Poutanen

Flash talks: WG2

33 A remarkable anti-correlation between optical/hard X-rays in Swift J1727.8-1613 revealed by Insight-HXMT

Speaker: Ruican Ma

34 Understanding the evolution of the coronal geometry through exploiting QPO characteristics

Speaker: Biki Ram

35 A Hidden Pulse: Uncovering a New Timing Signal in Cygnus X-1 with AstroSat

Speaker: Sandeep Rout

Magnetism

36 Introducing the science case for the WG3 (Magnetism)

Speaker: Mingyu Ge

37 Radiative Processes and QED Effects in strong magnetic fields: Implications for X-ray Pulsars

Speaker: Alexander Mushtukov

12:55 Lunch break

Magnetism

38 Highly magnetised isolated neutron star observations - the smoking gun of QED vacuum birefringence?

Speaker: Ruth Kelly

39 Can we see the shape of the magnetic field?

Speaker: Nabil Brice

40 Polarimetric views of X-ray Pulsars: From IXPE to eXTP

Speaker: Sofia Forsblom

41 Study the low accretion rate regime of accreting X-ray pulsars with eXTP

Speaker: Long Ji

42 Phase-Resolved Polarimetry of 1E 2259+586 in an Active State: IXPE Results and Prospects for eXTP

Speaker: Lorenzo Marra

15:30 Coffee break

Magnetism

43 Signatures of thermal resonant Comptonization as geometry tracers in accreting neutron stars

Speaker: Ekaterina Sokolova-Lapa

Flash talks: WG3

44 Application of Decentred Rotating Vector Model to Polarization Data of X-ray Pulsars

Speaker: Sofia Forsblom

45 Testing Pulsar Geometry Constraint Methods with Simulated Polarization Data

Speaker: Alexander Salganik

46 Propeller effect in action: Unveiling quenched accretion in the transient X-ray pulsar 4U 0115+63

Speaker: Hua Xiao

Working group coordinators meeting

18:00 Conference dinner

Wednesday 2 September

Multimessenger

47 Introducing the science case for the WG4 (Multimessenger)

Speaker: Simone Dall'Osso

48 Enable time-domain and multi-messenger astrophysics, in synergy with future observatories across the electromagnetic and gravitational-wave spectrum

Speaker: Eleonora Troja

49 Fast X-ray Transients: From EP Breakthroughs to eXTP Prospects

Speaker: He Gao

50 Observing Electromagnetic Counterparts of Gravitational-Wave Event

Speaker: Shu-Xu Yi

51 The observational properties of magnetar bursts and outbursts

Speaker: Lin Lin

52 Detection prospects of the emissions from gamma-ray burst by eXTP/PFA

Speaker: Mi-Xiang Lan

10:30 Coffee break

Multimessenger

53 LISA and eXTP: overlap and synergy?

Speaker: Alessandra De Rosa

54 eXTP perspectives on Dark Matter searches

Speaker: Denys Malyshev

Observatory science

55 Introducing the science case for the WG5 (Observatory science)

Speaker: Ping Zhou

56 Exploring X-ray binaries with eXTP

Speaker: Liang Zhang

57 Constraining the geometry of the outer disk region studying the polarization in the X-Ray dips

Speaker: Alessandro Di Marco

58 IXPE view of not pulsating accreting neutron stars in X-ray binaries

Speaker: Fabio La Monaca

59 The efficiency of geometric beaming in super-Eddington X-ray sources

Speaker: Varpu Ahlberg

60 X-ray Polarimetry of Pulsar Wind Nebulae: Insights from IXPE and the Path to eXTP

Speaker: Kuan Liu

13:00 Lunch break

Observatory science

61 AGN research expected in the observatory science of eXTP

Speaker: Jirong Mao

62 Changing-State AGN as Laboratories for SMBH Accretion Physics

Speaker: Claudio Ricci

63 Testing particle acceleration and jet composition models in supermassive black hole jets with IXPE

Speaker: Ioannis Liodakis

Flash talks: WG4 and WG5

64 Fast Radio Bursts from Young Magnetars: High-Energy Tests with eXTP

Speaker: Marcio G B de Avellar

65 TDE Observations with Einstein Probe and Prospects in the eXTP Era

Speaker: Chichuan Jin

66 Galactic X-ray Binaries in the Multi-Wavelength Sky

Speaker: Artur Avakyan

67 Probing jet physics with X-ray polarization: from IXPE to eXTP

Speaker: Athira M Bharathan

68 An angle-dependent synchrotron and SSC polarization model for blazars

Speaker: Motseothata Tisang

69 X-Ray Polarization Properties of High-Synchrotron-Peaked Blazars

Speaker: Jin Zhang

70 How would eXTP contribute to the study of burst-accretion interactions?

Speaker: Chuanyu Wei

Future missions

71 Building on SVOM: the CATCH-PM constellation for astrophysical transients hunting

Speaker: Stephan Schanne

15:35 Coffee break

Future missions

72 The POLAR-2 mission

Speaker: Hancheng Li

73 The EXPO Mission

Speaker: Lorenzo Marra

74 The Herd Mission

Speaker: Shuang-Nan Zhang

75 Combining microarcsec images of accretion disks with eXTP observations

Speaker: Gilles Koziol

76 X-ray interferometric space telescope (XRIstel) mission concept

Speaker: Phil Uttley

17:20 Concluding remarks