  LOFT, the Large Observatory For X-ray Timing, is one of five ESA M3 candidate
missions. It will address the Cosmic Vision theme: "Matter under Extreme
Conditions". By coupling for the first time a huge collecting area for the
detection of X-ray photons with CCD-quality spectral resolution (15 times
bigger in area than any previously flown X-ray instrument and >100 times bigger
for spectroscopy than any similar-resolution instrument), the instruments
on-board LOFT have been designed to (i) determine the properties of ultradense
matter by reconstructing its Equation of State through neutron star mass and
radius measurements of unprecedented accuracy; (ii) measure General Relativity
effects in the strong field regime in the stationary spacetimes of neutron
stars and black holes of all masses down to a few gravitational radii. Besides
the above two themes, LOFT's observations will be devoted to "observatory
science", providing new insights in a number of research fields in high energy
astrophysics (e.g. Gamma-ray Bursts). The assessment study phase of LOFT, which
ended in September 2013, demonstrated that the mission is low risk and the
required Technology Readiness Level can be easily reached in time for a launch
by the end of 2022.
