Simbol-X: Focusing on the Hard X-ray Universe: 2nd International Simbol-X Symposium, Paris, France, 2-5 December 2008

Simbol-X is a high energy astrophysics mission dedicated to hard X-ray imaging and spectroscopy in the 0.5-100 keV X-ray band. The several orders of magnitudes of improvement in angular resolution and sensitivity over all instruments which have operated so far in hard X-rays is obtained by using grazing incidence optics in a very long focal plane length telescope allowed by the new formation flying technology. The breakthrough in instrumentation will power a new window in astrophysics and cosmology, and will offer a large discovery space. Crucial advancements in black hole physics and census, and particle accelerations mechanisms will be possible. These define the core science objectives of the mission. The symposium consists of presentations on all aspects relevant to this mission both from the technical and scientific approaches.