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Transitional millisecond pulsars (tMSPs) are neutron star systems that alternate between a rotation-powered radio millisecond pulsar state and an accretion disc-dominated low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB)-like state on multi-year time-scales. During the LMXB-like state, the X-ray emission from tMSPs switches between 'low' and 'high' X-ray brightness modes on a time-scale of seconds to minutes (or longer), while the radio emission shows variability on time-scales of roughly minutes. Coordinated Very Large Array (VLA) and Chandra observations of the nearby tMSP PSR J1023+0038 uncovered a clear anticorrelation between radio and X-ray luminosities such that the radio emission consistently peaks during the X-ray low modes. In addition, there are sometimes also radio/X-ray flares that show no obvious correlation. In this paper, we present simultaneous radio and X-ray observations of a promising tMSP candidate system, 3FGL J1544.6 |$-$| 1125, which shows optical, |$\gamma$| -ray, and X-ray phenomena similar to PSR J1023+0038, but which is challenging to study because of its greater distance. Using simultaneous VLA and Chandra observations, we find that the radio and X-ray emission are consistent with being anticorrelated in a manner similar to PSR J1023+0038. We discuss how our results help in understanding the origin of bright radio emission from tMSPs. The greater sensitivity of upcoming telescopes such as the Square Kilometre Array will be crucial for studying the correlated radio/X-ray phenomena of tMSP systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hard X-ray emission from magnetars and other isolated neutron stars remains under-explored. An instrument with higher sensitivity to hard X-rays is critical to understanding the physics of neutron star magnetospheres and also the relationship between magnetars and Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs). High sensitivity to hard X-rays is required to determine the number of magnetars with hard X-ray tails, and to track transient non-thermal emission from these sources for years post-outburst. This sensitivity would also enable previously impossible studies of the faint non-thermal emission from middle-aged rotation-powered pulsars (RPPs), and detailed phase-resolved spectroscopic studies of younger, bright RPPs. The High Energy X-ray Probe (HEX-P) is a probe-class mission concept that will combine high spatial resolution X-ray imaging (<5 arcsec half-power diameter (HPD) at 0.2-25 keV) and broad spectral coverage (0.2-80 keV) with a sensitivity superior to current facilities (including XMM-Newton and NuSTAR). HEX-P has the required timing resolution to perform follow-up observations of sources identified by other facilities and positively identify candidate pulsating neutron stars. Here we discuss how HEX-P is ideally suited to address important questions about the physics of magnetars and other isolated neutron stars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the first joint NuSTAR and NICER observations of the ultracompact X-ray binary (UCXB) 4U 1543−624 obtained in 2020 April. The source was at a luminosity of L0.5−50 keV = 4.9(D/7 kpc)2 × 1036 erg s−1 and showed evidence of reflected emission in the form of an O viii line, Fe K line, and Compton hump within the spectrum. We used a full reflection model, known as xillverCO , that is tailored for the atypical abundances found in UCXBs, to account for the reflected emission. We tested the emission radii of the O and Fe line components and conclude that they originate from a common disk radius in the innermost region of the accretion disk (Rin ≤ 1.07 RISCO). Assuming that the compact accretor is a neutron star (NS) and the position of the inner disk is the Alfvén radius, we placed an upper limit on the magnetic field strength to be B ≤ 0.7(D/7 kpc) × 108 G at the poles. Given the lack of pulsations detected and position of Rin, it was likely that a boundary layer region had formed between the NS surface and inner edge of the accretion disk with an extent of 1.2 km. This implies a maximum radius of the neutron star accretor of RNS ≤ 12.1 km when assuming a canonical NS mass of 1.4 M⊙. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IGR J17591−2342 is a new accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar that was recently discovered in outburst in 2018. Early observations revealed that the source's radio emission is brighter than that of any other known neutron star low-mass X-ray binary (NS–LMXB) at comparable X-ray luminosity, and assuming its likely ≳6 kpc distance. It is comparably radio bright to black hole LMXBs at similar X-ray luminosities. In this work, we present the results of our extensive radio and X-ray monitoring campaign of the 2018 outburst of IGR J17591−2342. In total, we collected 10 quasi-simultaneous radio (VLA, ATCA) and X-ray (Swift –XRT) observations, which make IGR J17591−2342 one of the best-sampled NS–LMXBs. We use these to fit a power-law correlation index |$\beta = 0.37^{+0.42}_{-0.40}$| between observed radio and X-ray luminosities (L R ∝  L Xβ). However, our monitoring revealed a large scatter in IGR J17591−2342's radio luminosity (at a similar X-ray luminosity, L X ∼1036 erg s−1, and spectral state), with L R ∼ 4 × 1029 erg s−1 during the first three reported observations, and up to a factor of 4 lower L R during later radio observations. None the less, the average radio luminosity of IGR J17591−2342 is still one of the highest among NS–LMXBs, and we discuss possible reasons for the wide range of radio luminosities observed in such systems during outburst. We found no evidence for radio pulsations from IGR J17591−2342 in our Green Bank Telescope observations performed shortly after the source returned to quiescence. None the less, we cannot rule out that IGR J17591−2342 becomes a radio millisecond pulsar during quiescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]