Title: INTEGRAL observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud
Proposal ID: 0120212
Subject category: Compact Object
Principal investigator: Coe
Institute: Southampton University
Abstract
This is a proposal to carry out the first hard X-ray/gamma-ray study of the Small Magellanic Cloud. The
combined timing and imaging ability of INTEGRAL will permit a detailed study of the surprisingly large
population of High Mass X-ray Binaries in this galaxy. It will provide the first opportunity to study a
whole class of objects in a different environment from our Milky Way and to address some fundamental
questions related to the evolution of these systems and their exceptionally large luminosity variations. We
also expect that from these observations we will be able to deduce some vital clues into the star formation
history of the SMC.