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The Low Energy Modular Array (LEMA) is one of three instruments that compose the STROBE-X mission concept. The LEMA is a large effective-area, high throughput, non-imaging pointed instrument based on the X-ray Timing Instrument of the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) mission. The LEMA is designed for spectral-timing measurements of a variety of celestial X-ray sources, providing a transformative increase in sensitivity to photons in the 0.2-12 keV energy range compared to past missions, with an effective area (at 1.5 keV) of 16,000 cm$^2$ and an energy resolution of 85 eV at 1 keV., Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in JATIS

We give an overview of the science objectives and mission design of the Spectroscopic Time-Resolving Observatory for Broadband Energy X-rays (STROBE-X) observatory, which has been proposed as a NASA probe-class (~$1.5B) mission in response to the Astro2020 recommendation for an X-ray probe., Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in JATIS

XTE J1829-098 is a transient X-ray pulsar with a period of ~7.8 s. It is a candidate Be star system, although the evidence for this is not yet definitive. We investigated the twenty-year long X-ray light curve using the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer Proportional Counter Array (PCA), Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory Burst Alert Telescope (BAT), and the Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI). We find that all three light curves are clearly modulated on the ~244 day orbital period previously reported from PCA monitoring observations, with outbursts confined to a narrow phase range. The light curves also show that XTE J1829-098 was in an inactive state between approximately December 2008 and April 2018 and no strong outbursts occurred. Such behavior is typical of Be X-ray binary systems, with the absence of outbursts likely related to the dissipation of the Be star's decretion disk. The mean outburst shapes can be approximated with a triangular profile and, from a joint fit of this to all three light curves, we refine the orbital period to 243.95 +/- 0.04 days. The mean outburst profile does not show any asymmetry and has a total phase duration of 0.140 +/- 0.007. However, the PCA light curve shows that there is considerable cycle-to-cycle variability of the individual outbursts. We compare the properties of XTE J1829-098 with other sources that show short phase-duration outbursts, in particular GS 1843-02 (2S 1845-024) which has a very similar orbital period, but longer pulse period, and whose orbit is known to be highly eccentric., Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. 21 pages

We report Bayesian inference of the mass, radius and hot X-ray emitting region properties - using data from the Neutron Star Interior Composition ExploreR (NICER) - for the brightest rotation-powered millisecond X-ray pulsar PSR J0437$\unicode{x2013}$4715. Our modeling is conditional on informative tight priors on mass, distance and binary inclination obtained from radio pulsar timing using the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA) (Reardon et al. 2024), and we use NICER background models to constrain the non-source background, cross-checking with data from XMM-Newton. We assume two distinct hot emitting regions, and various parameterized hot region geometries that are defined in terms of overlapping circles; while simplified, these capture many of the possibilities suggested by detailed modeling of return current heating. For the preferred model identified by our analysis we infer a mass of $M = 1.418 \pm 0.037$ M$_\odot$ (largely informed by the PPTA mass prior) and an equatorial radius of $R = 11.36^{+0.95}_{-0.63}$ km, each reported as the posterior credible interval bounded by the 16% and 84% quantiles. This radius favors softer dense matter equations of state and is highly consistent with constraints derived from gravitational wave measurements of neutron star binary mergers. The hot regions are inferred to be non-antipodal, and hence inconsistent with a pure centered dipole magnetic field., Comment: 27 pages, 16 figures, + appendices. Accepted in ApJL. Data files and reproduction package available in Zenodo

PSR J0740+6620 is the neutron star with the highest precisely determined mass, inferred from radio observations to be $2.08\pm0.07\,\rm M_\odot$. Measurements of its radius therefore hold promise to constrain the properties of the cold, catalyzed, high-density matter in neutron star cores. Previously, Miller et al. (2021) and Riley et al. (2021) reported measurements of the radius of PSR J0740+6620 based on Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) observations accumulated through 17 April 2020, and an exploratory analysis utilizing NICER background estimates and a data set accumulated through 28 December 2021 was presented in Salmi et al. (2022). Here we report an updated radius measurement, derived by fitting models of X-ray emission from the neutron star surface to NICER data accumulated through 21 April 2022, totaling $\sim1.1$ Ms additional exposure compared to the data set analyzed in Miller et al. (2021) and Riley et al. (2021), and to data from X-ray Multi-Mirror (XMM-Newton) observations. We find that the equatorial circumferential radius of PSR J0740+6620 is $12.92_{-1.13}^{+2.09}$ km (68% credibility), a fractional uncertainty $\sim83\%$ the width of that reported in Miller et al. (2021), in line with statistical expectations given the additional data. If we were to require the radius to be less than 16 km, as was done in Salmi et al. (2024), then our 68% credible region would become $R=12.76^{+1.49}_{-1.02}$ km, which is close to the headline result of Salmi et al. (2024). Our updated measurements, along with other laboratory and astrophysical constraints, imply a slightly softer equation of state than that inferred from our previous measurements., Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, +appendices. Accepted in ApJ

We present the tidal disruption event (TDE) AT2022lri, hosted in a nearby ($\approx\!144$ Mpc) quiescent galaxy with a low-mass massive black hole ($10^4\,M_\odot < M_{\rm BH} < 10^6\,M_\odot$). AT2022lri belongs to the TDE-H+He subtype. More than 1 Ms of X-ray data were collected with NICER, Swift, and XMM-Newton from 187 d to 672 d after peak. The X-ray luminosity gradually declined from $1.5\times 10^{44}\,{\rm erg\,s^{-1}}$ to $1.5\times 10^{43}\,{\rm erg\,s^{-1}}$ and remains much above the UV and optical luminosity, consistent with a super-Eddington accretion flow viewed face-on. Sporadic strong X-ray dips atop a long-term decline are observed, with variability timescale of $\approx\!0.5$ hr--1 d and amplitude of $\approx\!2$--8. When fitted with simple continuum models, the X-ray spectrum is dominated by a thermal disk component with inner temperature going from $\sim\! 146$ eV to $\sim\! 86$ eV. However, there are residual features that peak around 1 keV, which, in some cases, cannot be reproduced by a single broad emission line. We analyzed a subset of time-resolved spectra with two physically motivated models describing either a scenario where ionized absorbers contribute extra absorption and emission lines or where disk reflection plays an important role. Both models provide good and statistically comparable fits, show that the X-ray dips are correlated with drops in the inner disk temperature, and require the existence of sub-relativistic (0.1--0.3$c$) ionized outflows. We propose that the disk temperature fluctuation stems from episodic drops of the mass accretion rate triggered by magnetic instabilities or/and wobbling of the inner accretion disk along the black hole's spin axis., Comment: 35 pages, 20 figures, submitted

We present the discovery, with the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), that SRGA J144459.2-604207 is a 447.9 Hz accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar (AMXP), which underwent a four-week long outburst starting on 2024 February 15. The AMXP resides in a 5.22 hr binary, orbiting a low-mass companion donor with $M_d>0.1M_\odot$. We report on the temporal and spectral properties from NICER observations during the early days of the outburst, from 2024 February 21 through 2024 February 23, during which NICER also detected a type-I X-ray burst that exhibited a plateau lasting ~6 s. The spectra of the persistent emission were well described by an absorbed thermal blackbody and power-law model, with blackbody temperature $kT\approx0.9{\rm\,keV}$ and power-law photon index $\Gamma\approx1.9$. Time-resolved burst spectroscopy confirmed the thermonuclear nature of the burst, where an additional blackbody component reached a maximum temperature of nearly $kT\approx3{\rm\,keV}$ at the peak of the burst. We discuss the nature of the companion as well as the type-I X-ray burst., Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables. Accepted by ApJL

We detected a giant X-ray flare from the RS-CVn type binary star UX Ari using MAXI on 2020 August 17 and started a series of NICER observations 89 minutes later. For a week, the entire duration of the flare was covered with 32 snapshot observations including the rising phase. The X-ray luminosity reached 2$\times$10$^{33}$ erg s$^{-1}$ and the entire energy release was $\sim 10^{38}$ erg in the 0.5--8.0~keV band. X-ray spectra characterized by continuum emission with lines of Fe XXV He$\alpha$ and Fe XXVI Ly$\alpha$ were obtained. We found that the temperature peaks before that of the flux, which suggests that the period of plasma formation in the magnetic flare loop was captured. Using the continuum information (temperature, flux, and their delay time), we estimated the flare loop size to be $\sim 3 \times 10^{11}$ cm and the peak electron density to be $\sim 4\times10^{10}$ cm$^{-3}$. Furthermore, using the line ratio of Fe XXV and Fe XXVI, we investigated any potential indications of deviation from collisional ionization equilibrium (CIE). The X-ray spectra were consistent with CIE plasma throughout the flare, but the possibility of an ionizing plasma away from CIE was not rejected in the flux rising phase., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. Accepted by ApJ

Magnetars are neutron stars with extremely high magnetic fields that exhibit various X-ray phenomena such as sporadic sub-second bursts, long-term persistent flux enhancements, and variable rates of rotation period change. In 2020, a fast radio burst (FRB), akin to cosmological millisecond-duration radio bursts, was detected from the Galactic magnetar SGR 1935+2154, confirming the long-suspected association between some FRBs and magnetars. However, the mechanism for FRB generation in magnetars remains unclear. Here we report the X-ray discovery of an unprecedented double glitch in SGR 1935+2154 within a time interval of approximately nine hours, bracketing an FRB that occurred on October 14, 2022. Each glitch involved a significant increase in the magnetar's spin frequency, being among the largest abrupt changes in neutron star rotation ever observed. Between the glitches, the magnetar exhibited a rapid spin-down phase, accompanied by a profound increase and subsequent decline in its persistent X-ray emission and burst rate. We postulate that a strong, ephemeral, magnetospheric wind provides the torque that rapidly slows the star's rotation. The trigger for the first glitch couples the star's crust to its magnetosphere, enhances the various X-ray signals, and spawns the wind that alters magnetospheric conditions that might produce the FRB., Comment: 46 pages, 9figures, 4 tables, a submitted version of Nature 626, 500 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-07012-5)

We report on X-ray polarization measurements of the extra-galactic Crab-like PSR B0540-69 and its Pulsar Wind Nebula (PWN) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), using a ~850 ks Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) exposure. The PWN is unresolved by IXPE. No statistically significant polarization is detected for the image-averaged data, giving a 99% confidence polarization upper limit (MDP99) of 5.3% in 2-8 keV energy range. However, a phase-resolved analysis detects polarization for both the nebula and pulsar in the 4-6 keV energy range. For the PWN defined as the off-pulse phases, the polarization degree (PD) of (24.5 ${\pm}$ 5.3)% and polarization angle (PA) of (78.1 ${\pm}$ 6.2){\deg} is detected at 4.6${\sigma}$ significance level, consistent with the PA observed in the optical band. In a single on-pulse window, a hint of polarization is measured at 3.8${\sigma}$ with polarization degree of (50.0 ${\pm}$ 13.1)% and polarization angle of (6.2 ${\pm}$ 7.4){\deg}. A 'simultaneous' PSR/PWN analysis finds two bins at the edges of the pulse exceeding 3${\sigma}$ PD significance, with PD of (68 ${\pm}$ 20)% and (62 ${\pm}$ 20)%; intervening bins at 2-3${\sigma}$ significance have lower PD, hinting at additional polarization structure., Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables, author's version of the paper accepted for publication in ApJ

We present the results obtained from detailed X-ray timing and spectral studies of X-ray pulsar Swift J0243.6+6124 during its giant and normal X-ray outbursts between 2017 and 2023 observed by the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER). We focused on the timing analysis of the normal outbursts. A distinct break is found in the power density spectra of the source. The corresponding break frequency and slope of power-laws around the break vary with luminosity, indicating the change in accretion dynamics with mass accretion rate. Interestingly, we detected quasi-periodic oscillations within a specific luminosity range, providing further insights into the underlying physical processes. We also studied the neutron star spin period evolution and a luminosity variation in pulse profile during the recent 2023 outburst. The spectral analysis was conducted comprehensively for the giant and all other normal outbursts. We identified a double transition at luminosities of $\approx$7.5$\times$10$^{37}$ and 2.1$\times$10$^{38}$ erg s$^{-1}$ in the evolution of continuum parameters like photon index and cutoff energy with luminosity. This indicates three distinct accretion modes experienced by the source mainly during the giant X-ray outburst. A soft blackbody component with a temperature of 0.08-0.7 keV is also detected in spectra. The observed temperature undergoes a discontinuous transition when the pulsar evolves from a sub- to super-Eddington state. Notably, in addition to an evolving 6-7 keV iron line complex, a 1 keV emission line was observed during the super-Eddington state of the source, implying the X-ray reflection from the accretion disc or outflow material., Comment: This paper is accepted now in Astrophysical journal

The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) measured with high significance the X-ray polarization of the brightest Z-source Scorpius X-1, resulting in the nominal 2-8 keV energy band in a polarization degree of 1.0(0.2)% and a polarization angle of 8(6){\deg} at 90% of confidence level. This observation was strictly simultaneous with observations performed by NICER, NuSTAR, and Insight-HXMT, which allowed for a precise characterization of its broad-band spectrum from soft to hard X-rays. The source has been observed mainly in its soft state, with short periods of flaring. We also observed low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations. From a spectro-polarimetric analysis, we associate a polarization to the accretion disk at <3.2% at 90% of confidence level, compatible with expectations for an electron-scattering dominated optically thick atmosphere at the Sco X-1 inclination of 44{\deg}; for the higher-energy Comptonized component, we obtain a polarization of 1.3(0.4)%, in agreement with expectations for a slab of Thomson optical depth of ~7 and an electron temperature of ~3 keV. A polarization rotation with respect to previous observations by OSO-8 and PolarLight, and also with respect to the radio-jet position angle, is observed. This result may indicate a variation of the polarization with the source state that can be related to relativistic precession or to a change in the corona geometry with the accretion flow.

The X-ray pulsar RX J0440.9+4431 went through a giant outburst in 2022 and reached a record-high flux of 2.3 Crab, as observed by Swift/BAT. We study the evolution of different spectral and timing properties of the source using NICER observations. The pulse period is found to decrease from 208 s to 205 s, and the pulse profile evolves significantly with energy and luminosity. The hardness ratio and hardness intensity diagram (HID) show remarkable evolution during the outburst. The HID turns towards the diagonal branch from the horizontal branch above a transition (critical) luminosity, suggesting the presence of two accretion modes. Each NICER spectrum can be described using a cutoff power law with a blackbody component and a Gaussian at 6.4 keV. At higher luminosities, an additional Gaussian at 6.67 keV is used. The observed photon index shows negative and positive correlations with X-ray flux below and above the critical luminosity, respectively. The evolution of spectral and timing parameters suggests a possible change in the emission mechanism and beaming pattern of the pulsar depending on the spectral transition to sub- and super-critical accretion regimes. Based on the critical luminosity, the magnetic field of the neutron star can be estimated in the order of 10$^{12}$ or 10$^{13}$ G, assuming different theoretical models. Moreover, the observed iron emission line evolves from a narrow to a broad feature with luminosity. Two emission lines originating from neutral and highly ionized Fe atoms were evident in the spectra around 6.4 keV and 6.67 keV (higher luminosities)., Comment: Published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

We report the discovery of the unusually bright long-duration gamma-ray burst (GRB), GRB 221009A, as observed by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory (Swift), Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI), and Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer Mission (NICER). This energetic GRB was located relatively nearby (z = 0.151), allowing for sustained observations of the afterglow. The large X-ray luminosity and low Galactic latitude (b = 4.3 degrees) make GRB 221009A a powerful probe of dust in the Milky Way. Using echo tomography we map the line-of-sight dust distribution and find evidence for significant column densities at large distances (~> 10kpc). We present analysis of the light curves and spectra at X-ray and UV/optical wavelengths, and find that the X-ray afterglow of GRB 221009A is more than an order of magnitude brighter at T0 + 4.5 ks than any previous GRB observed by Swift. In its rest frame GRB 221009A is at the high end of the afterglow luminosity distribution, but not uniquely so. In a simulation of randomly generated bursts, only 1 in 10^4 long GRBs were as energetic as GRB 221009A; such a large E_gamma,iso implies a narrow jet structure, but the afterglow light curve is inconsistent with simple top-hat jet models. Using the sample of Swift GRBs with redshifts, we estimate that GRBs as energetic and nearby as GRB 221009A occur at a rate of ~<1 per 1000 yr - making this a truly remarkable opportunity unlikely to be repeated in our lifetime., Comment: 30 pages, 13 figures, submitted to ApJL

The Neutron star Interior Composition ExploreR (NICER) X-ray observatory observed two powerful X-ray flares equivalent to superflares from the nearby young solar-like star, kappa1 Ceti, in 2019. NICER follows each flare from the onset through the early decay, collecting over 30 cts s-1 near the peak, enabling a detailed spectral variation study of the flare rise. The flare in September varies quickly in ~800 sec, while the flare in December has a few times longer timescale. In both flares, the hard band (2-4 keV) light curves show typical stellar X-ray flare variations with a rapid rise and slow decay, while the soft X-ray light curves, especially of the September flare, have prolonged flat peaks. The time-resolved spectra require two temperature plasma components at kT ~0.3-1 keV and ~2-4 keV. Both components vary similarly, but the cool component lags by ~200 sec with a 4-6 times smaller emission measure (EM) compared to the hot component. A comparison with hydrodynamic flare loop simulations indicates that the cool component originates from X-ray plasma near the magnetic loop footpoints, which mainly cools via thermal conduction. The time lag represents the travel time of the evaporated gas through the entire flare loop. The cool component has several times smaller EM than its simulated counterpart, suggesting a suppression of conductive cooling possibly by the expansion of the loop cross-sectional area or turbulent fluctuations. The cool component's time lag and small EM ratio provide important constraints on the flare loop geometry., Comment: 21 pages, 12 figures, to be published in the Astrophysical Journal

We report a revised analysis for the radius, mass, and hot surface regions of the massive millisecond pulsar PSR J0740+6620, studied previously with joint fits to NICER and XMM-Newton data by Riley et al. (2021) and Miller et al. (2021). We perform a similar Bayesian estimation for the pulse-profile model parameters, except that instead of fitting simultaneously the XMM-Newton data, we use the best available NICER background estimates to constrain the number of photons detected from the source. This approach eliminates any potential issues in the cross-calibration between these two instruments, providing thus an independent check of the robustness of the analysis. The obtained neutron star parameter constraints are compatible with the already published results, with a slight dependence on how conservative the imposed background limits are. A tighter lower limit causes the inferred radius to increase, and a tighter upper limit causes it to decrease. We also extend the study of the inferred emission geometry to examine the degree of deviation from antipodality of the hot regions. We show that there is a significant offset to an antipodal spot configuration, mainly due to the non-half-cycle azimuthal separation of the two emitting spots. The offset angle from the antipode is inferred to be above 25 degrees with 84% probability. This seems to exclude a centered-dipolar magnetic field in PSR J0740+6620., Comment: 29 pages, 18 figures (10 of which are figure sets), 1 animation, 10 tables. Published in ApJ

We present the discovery of 528.6 Hz pulsations in the new X-ray transient MAXI J1816-195. Using NICER, we observed the first recorded transient outburst from the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary MAXI J1816-195 over a period of 28 days. From a timing analysis of the 528.6 Hz pulsations, we find that the binary system is well described as a circular orbit with an orbital period of 4.8 hours and a projected semi-major axis of 0.26 light-seconds for the pulsar, which constrains the mass of the donor star to $0.10-0.55 M_\odot$. Additionally, we observed 15 thermonuclear X-ray bursts showing a gradual evolution in morphology over time, and a recurrence time as short as 1.4 hours. We did not detect evidence for photospheric radius expansion, placing an upper limit on the source distance of 8.6 kpc., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters

We present X-ray, UV, optical, and radio observations of the nearby ($\approx78$ Mpc) tidal disruption event (TDE) AT2021ehb/ZTF21aanxhjv during its first 430 days of evolution. AT2021ehb occurs in the nucleus of a galaxy hosting a $\approx 10^{7}\,M_\odot$ black hole ($M_{\rm BH}$ inferred from host galaxy scaling relations). High-cadence Swift and NICER monitoring reveals a delayed X-ray brightening. The spectrum first undergoes a gradual ${\rm soft }\rightarrow{\rm hard}$ transition and then suddenly turns soft again within 3 days at $\delta t\approx 272$ days during which the X-ray flux drops by a factor of ten. In the joint NICER+NuSTAR observation ($\delta t =264$ days, harder state), we observe a prominent non-thermal component up to 30 keV and an extremely broad emission line in the iron K band. The bolometric luminosity of AT2021ehb reaches a maximum of $6.0^{+10.4}_{-3.8}\% L_{\rm Edd}$ when the X-ray spectrum is the hardest. During the dramatic X-ray evolution, no radio emission is detected, the UV/optical luminosity stays relatively constant, and the optical spectra are featureless. We propose the following interpretations: (i) the ${\rm soft }\rightarrow{\rm hard}$ transition may be caused by the gradual formation of a magnetically dominated corona; (ii) hard X-ray photons escape from the system along solid angles with low scattering optical depth ($\sim\,$a few) whereas the UV/optical emission is likely generated by reprocessing materials with much larger column density -- the system is highly aspherical; (iii) the abrupt X-ray flux drop may be triggered by the thermal-viscous instability in the inner accretion flow leading to a much thinner disk., Comment: 35 pages, 21 figures, accepted by ApJ

We have used X-ray data from the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) to search for long time-scale, correlated variations ("red noise") in the pulse times of arrival from the millisecond pulsars PSR J1824$-$2452A and PSR B1937+21. These data more closely track intrinsic noise because X-rays are unaffected by the radio-frequency dependent propagation effects of the interstellar medium. Our Bayesian search methodology yields strong evidence (natural log Bayes factor of $9.634 \pm 0.016$) for red noise in PSR J1824$-$2452A, but is inconclusive for PSR B1937+21. In the interest of future X-ray missions, we devise and implement a method to simulate longer and higher precision X-ray datasets to determine the timing baseline necessary to detect red noise. We find that the red noise in PSR B1937+21 can be reliably detected in a 5-year mission with a time-of-arrival (TOA) error of 2 microseconds and an observing cadence of 20 observations per month compared to the 5 microsecond TOA error and 11 observations per month that NICER currently achieves in PSR B1937+21. We investigate detecting red noise in PSR B1937+21 with other combinations of observing cadences and TOA errors. We also find that an injected stochastic gravitational wave background (GWB) with an amplitude of $A_{\rm GWB}=2\times10^{-15}$ and spectral index of $\gamma_{\rm GWB}=13/3$ can be detected in a pulsar with similar TOA precision to PSR B1937+21, but with no additional red noise, in a 10-year mission that observes the pulsar 15 times per month and has an average TOA error of 1 microsecond., Comment: 21 pages, 13 figures

We report on a spectroscopic analysis of the X-ray emission from IGR J17062-6143 in the aftermath of its June 2020 intermediate duration Type I X-ray burst. Using the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer, we started observing the source three hours after the burst was detected with MAXI/GSC, and monitored the source for the subsequent twelve days. We observed the tail end of the X-ray burst cooling phase, and find that the X-ray flux is severely depressed relative to its historic value for a three day period directly following the burst. We interpret this intensity dip as the inner accretion disk gradually restoring itself after being perturbed by the burst irradiation. Superimposed on this trend we observed a $1.5$ d interval during which the X-ray flux is sharply lower than the wider trend. This drop in flux could be isolated to the non-thermal components in the energy spectrum, suggesting that it may be caused by an evolving corona. Additionally, we detected a 3.4 keV absorption line at $6.3\sigma$ significance in a single $472$ s observation while the burst emission was still bright. We tentatively identify the line as a gravitationally redshifted absorption line from burning ashes on the stellar surface, possibly associated with ${}^{40}{\rm Ca}$ or ${}^{44}{\rm Ti}$., Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ

SS Cyg has long been recognized as the prototype of a group of dwarf novae that show only outbursts. However, this object has entered a quite anomalous event in 2021, which at first appeared to be standstill, i.e., an almost constant luminosity state, observed in Z Cam-type dwarf novae. This unexpected event gives us a great opportunity to reconsider the nature of standstill in cataclysmic variables. We have observed this anomalous event and its forerunner, a gradual and simultaneous increase in the optical and X-ray flux during quiescence, through many optical telescopes and the X-ray telescopes NICER and NuSTAR. We have not found any amplification of the orbital hump during quiescence before the anomalous event, which suggests that the mass transfer rate did not significantly fluctuate on average. The estimated X-ray flux was not enough to explain the increment of the optical flux during quiescence via X-ray irradiation of the disk and the secondary star. It would be natural to consider that viscosity in the quiescent disk was enhanced before the anomalous event, which increased mass accretion rates in the disk and raised not only the optical flux but also the X-ray flux. We suggest that enhanced viscosity also triggered the standstill-like phenomenon in SS Cyg, which is considered to be a series of small outbursts. The inner part of the disk would always stay in the outburst state and only its outer part would be unstable against the thermal-viscous instability during this phenomenon, which is consistent with the observed optical color variations. This scenario is in line with our X-ray spectral analyses which imply that the X-ray emitting inner accretion flow became hotter than usual and vertically expanded and that it became denser and was cooled down after the onset of the standstill-like state., Comment: Accepted for publication in PASJ. 18 pages, 10 figures, and 2 tables

NICER has a comparatively low background rate, but it is highly variable, and its spectrum must be predicted using measurements unaffected by the science target. We describe an empirical, three-parameter model based on observations of seven pointing directions that are void of detectable sources. An examination of 3556 good time intervals (GTIs), averaging 570 s, yields a median rate (0.4-12 keV; 50 detectors) of 0.87 c/s, but in 5 percent (1 percent) of cases, the rate exceeds 10 (300) c/s. Model residuals persist at 20-30 percent of the initial rate for the brightest GTIs, implying one or more missing model parameters. Filtering criteria are given to flag GTIs likely to have unsatisfactory background predictions. With such filtering, we estimate a detection limit, 1.20 c/s (3 sigma, single GTI) at 0.4-12 keV, equivalent to 3.6e-12 erg/cm^2/s for a Crab-like spectrum. The corresponding limit for soft X-ray sources is 0.51 c/s at 0.3-2.0 keV, or 4.3e-13 erg/cm^2/s for a 100 eV blackbody. Faint-source filtering selects 85 percent of the background GTIs, and higher rates are expected for targets scheduled more favorably. An application of the model to 1 s timescale makes it possible to distinguish source flares from possible surges in the background., Comment: 27 pages, 14 figures; submitted to the Astronomical Journal

We report on Bayesian estimation of the radius, mass, and hot surface regions of the massive millisecond pulsar PSR J0740$+$6620, conditional on pulse-profile modeling of Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer X-ray Timing Instrument (NICER XTI) event data. We condition on informative pulsar mass, distance, and orbital inclination priors derived from the joint NANOGrav and CHIME/Pulsar wideband radio timing measurements of arXiv:2104.00880. We use XMM European Photon Imaging Camera spectroscopic event data to inform our X-ray likelihood function. The prior support of the pulsar radius is truncated at 16 km to ensure coverage of current dense matter models. We assume conservative priors on instrument calibration uncertainty. We constrain the equatorial radius and mass of PSR J0740$+$6620 to be $12.39_{-0.98}^{+1.30}$ km and $2.072_{-0.066}^{+0.067}$ M$_{\odot}$ respectively, each reported as the posterior credible interval bounded by the 16% and 84% quantiles, conditional on surface hot regions that are non-overlapping spherical caps of fully-ionized hydrogen atmosphere with uniform effective temperature; a posteriori, the temperature is $\log_{10}(T$ [K]$)=5.99_{-0.06}^{+0.05}$ for each hot region. All software for the X-ray modeling framework is open-source and all data, model, and sample information is publicly available, including analysis notebooks and model modules in the Python language. Our marginal likelihood function of mass and equatorial radius is proportional to the marginal joint posterior density of those parameters (within the prior support) and can thus be computed from the posterior samples., Comment: 40 pages, 16 figures (3 of which are figure sets), 1 animation, 2 tables. ApJL accepted version. Software: https://github.com/ThomasEdwardRiley/xpsi. Zenodo: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4697624. (v1 = submitted version; v2 = accepted version; v3 = metadata edits)

We present detailed timing and spectral studies of the black hole candidate MAXI J0637$-$430 during its 2019-2020 outburst using observations with the {\em Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER)} and the {\em Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory}. We find that the source evolves through the soft-intermediate, high-soft, hard-intermediate and low-hard states during the outburst. No evidence of quasi-periodic oscillations is found in the power density spectra of the source. Weak variability with fractional rms amplitude $<5\%$ is found in the softer spectral states. In the hard-intermediate and hard states, high variability with the fractional rms amplitude of $>20\%$ is observed. The $0.7-10$ keV spectra with {\em NICER} are studied with a combined disk-blackbody and nthcomp model along with the interstellar absorption. The temperature of the disc is estimated to be $0.6$ keV in the rising phase and decreased slowly to $0.1$ keV in the declining phase. The disc component was not detectable or absent during the low hard state. From the state-transition luminosity and the inner edge of the accretion flow, we estimate the mass of the black hole to be in the range of 5$-$12 $M_{\odot}$, assuming the source distance of $d<10$ kpc., Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We describe the X-ray pulse profile models we use, and how we use them, to analyze Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) observations of rotation-powered millisecond pulsars to obtain information about the mass-radius relation of neutron stars and the equation of state of the dense matter in their cores. Here we detail our modeling of the observed profile of PSR J0030+0451 that we analyzed in Miller et al. (2019) and Riley et al. (2019) and describe a cross-verification of computations of the pulse profiles of a star with R/M 3, in case stars this compact need to be considered in future analyses. We also present our early cross-verification efforts of the parameter estimation procedures used by Miller et al. (2019) and Riley et al. (2019) by analyzing two distinct synthetic data sets. Both codes yielded credible regions in the mass-radius plane that are statistically consistent with one another and both gave posterior distributions for model parameter values consistent with the values that were used to generate the data. We also summarize the additional tests of the parameter estimation procedure of Miller et al. (2019) that used synthetic pulse profiles and the NICER pulse profile of PSR J0030+0451. We then illustrate how the precision of mass and radius estimates depends on the pulsar's spin rate and the size of its hot spot by analyzing four different synthetic pulse profiles. Finally, we assess possible sources of systematic error in these estimates made using this technique, some of which may warrant further investigation., Comment: 26 pages, 5 figures; submitted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters

Giant radio pulses (GRPs) are sporadic bursts emitted by some pulsars, lasting a few microseconds. GRPs are hundreds to thousands of times brighter than regular pulses from these sources. The only GRP-associated emission outside radio wavelengths is from the Crab Pulsar, where optical emission is enhanced by a few percent during GRPs. We observed the Crab Pulsar simultaneously at X-ray and radio wavelengths, finding enhancement of the X-ray emission by $3.8\pm0.7\%$ (a 5.4$\sigma$ detection) coinciding with GRPs. This implies that the total emitted energy from GRPs is tens to hundreds of times higher than previously known. We discuss the implications for the pulsar emission mechanism and extragalactic fast radio bursts., Comment: 63 pages, 23 figures, 7 Tables. Published in Science

We report that the RS CVn-type star GT Mus (HR 4492, HD 101379 + HD 101380) was the most active star in the X-ray sky in the last decade in terms of the scale of recurrent energetic flares. We detected 11 flares from GT Mus in 8 yr of observations with Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) from 2009 August to 2017 August. The detected flare peak luminosities were 1-4 $\times$ 10$^{33}$ erg s$^{-1}$ in the 2.0-20.0 keV band for its distance of 109.6 pc. Our timing analysis showed long durations ($\tau_{\rm r} + \tau_{\rm d}$) of 2-6 days with long decay times ($\tau_{\rm d}$) of 1-4 days. The released energies during the decay phases of the flares in the 0.1-100 keV band ranged 1-11 $\times$ 10$^{38}$ erg, which are at the upper end of the observed stellar flare. The released energies during whole duration time ranged 2-13 $\times$ 10$^{38}$ erg in the same band. We carried out X-ray follow-up observations for one of the 11 flares with Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) on 2017 July 18 and found that the flare cooled quasi-statically. On the basis of a quasi-static cooling model, the flare loop length is derived to be 4 $\times$ 10$^{12}$ cm (or 60 R$_{\odot}$). The electron density is derived to be 1 $\times$ 10$^{10}$ cm$^{-3}$, which is consistent with the typical value of solar and stellar flares (10$^{10-13}$ cm$^{-3}$). The ratio of the cooling timescales between radiative cooling ($\tau_{\rm rad}$) and conductive cooling ($\tau_{\rm cond}$) is estimated to be $\tau_{\rm rad}$ $\sim$ 0.1$\tau_{\rm cond}$ from the temperature; thus radiative cooling was dominant in this flare., Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, 4 tables, Published for publication in The Astrophysical Journal (23-Mar-2021)

We report on the X-ray properties of the new transient Swift J0840.7$-$3516, discovered with Swift/BAT in 2020 February, using extensive data of Swift, MAXI, NICER, and NuSTAR. The source flux increased for $\sim 10^3$ s after the discovery, decayed rapidly over $\sim$ 5 orders of magnitude in 5 days, and then remained almost constant over 9 months. Large-amplitude short-term variations on time scales of 1--$10^4$ s were observed throughout the decay. In the initial flux rise, the source showed a hard power-law shaped spectrum with a photon index of $\sim 1.0$ extending up to $\sim 30$ keV, above which an exponential cutoff was present. The photon index increased in the following rapid decay and became $\sim 2$ at the end of the decay. A spectral absorption feature at 3--4 keV was detected in the decay. It is not straightforward to explain all the observed properties by any known class of X-ray sources. We discuss the possible nature of the source, including a Galactic low mass X-ray binary with multiple extreme properties and a tidal disruption event by a supermassive black hole or a Galactic neutron star., Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables, Accepted for publication in ApJ

We report the temporal and spectral analysis of three thermonuclear X-ray bursts from 4U 1608-52, observed by the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) during and just after the outburst observed from the source in 2020. In two of the X-ray bursts, we detect secondary peaks, 30 and 18 seconds after the initial peaks. The secondary peaks show a fast rise exponential decay-like shape resembling a thermonuclear X-ray burst. Time-resolved X-ray spectral analysis reveals that the peak flux, blackbody temperature, and apparent emitting radius values of the initial peaks are in agreement with X-ray bursts previously observed from 4U 1608-52, while the same values for the secondary peaks tend toward the lower end of the distribution of bursts observed from this source. The third X-ray burst, which happened during much lower accretion rates did not show any evidence for a deviation from an exponential decay and was significantly brighter than the previous bursts. We present the properties of the secondary peaks and discuss the events within the framework of short recurrence time bursts or bursts with secondary peaks. We find that the current observations do not fit in standard scenarios and challenge our understanding of flame spreading., Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

We report the detection of 376.05 Hz (2.66 ms) coherent X-ray pulsations in NICER observations of a transient outburst of the low-mass X-ray binary IGR J17494-3030 in 2020 October/November. The system is an accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar in a 75 minute ultracompact binary. The mass donor is most likely a $\simeq 0.02 M_\odot$ finite-entropy white dwarf composed of He or C/O. The fractional rms pulsed amplitude is 7.4%, and the soft (1-3 keV) X-ray pulse profile contains a significant second harmonic. The pulsed amplitude and pulse phase lag (relative to our mean timing model) are energy-dependent, each having a local maximum at 4 keV and 1.5 keV, respectively. We also recovered the X-ray pulsations in archival 2012 XMM-Newton observations, allowing us to measure a long-term pulsar spin-down rate of $\dot\nu = -2.1(7)\times10^{-14}$ Hz/s and to infer a pulsar surface dipole magnetic field strength of $\simeq 10^9$ G. We show that the mass transfer in the binary is likely non-conservative, and we discuss various scenarios for mass loss from the system., Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, and 1 table; accepted for publication in ApJL

In this work we report on observations with the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer of the known neutron star X-ray transient XTE J1739-285. We observed the source in 2020 February and March, finding it in a highly active bursting state. Across a 20-day period, we detected 32 thermonuclear X-ray bursts, with an average burst recurrence time of $2.0^{+0.4}_{-0.3}$ hr. A timing and spectral analysis of the ensemble of X-ray bursts reveals homogeneous burst properties, evidence for short-recurrence time bursts, and the detection of a 386.5 Hz burst oscillation candidate. The latter is especially notable, given that a previous study of this source claimed a 1122 Hz burst oscillation candidate. We did not find any evidence of variability near 1122 Hz, and instead find that the 386.5 Hz oscillation is the more prominent signal of the two burst oscillation candidates. Hence, we conclude it is unlikely that XTE J1739-285 has a sub-millisecond rotation period., Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ

We report on the hard X-ray burst and the first ~100 days NICER monitoring of the soft X-ray temporal and spectral evolution of the newly-discovered magnetar Swift J1818.0-1607. The burst properties are typical of magnetars with a duration of $T_{90}=10\pm4$ ms and a temperature of $kT=8.4\pm0.7$ keV. The 2--8 keV pulse shows a broad, single peak profile with a pulse fraction increasing with time from 30% to 43%. The NICER observations reveal strong timing noise with $\dot{\nu}$ varying erratically by a factor of 10, with an average long-term spin-down rate of $\dot{\nu}=(-2.48\pm0.03)\times10^{-11}$~s$^{-2}$, implying an equatorial surface magnetic field of $2.5\times10^{14}$ G and a young characteristic age of $\sim$470 yr. We detect a large spin-up glitch at MJD 58928.56 followed by a candidate spin-down glitch at MJD 58934.81, with no accompanying flux enhancements. The persistent soft X-ray spectrum of Swift~J1818.0-1607 can be modeled as an absorbed blackbody with a temperature of ~1 keV. Its flux decayed by ~60% while the modeled emitting area decreased by ~30% over the NICER observing campaign. This decrease, coupled with the increase in the pulse fraction points to a shrinking hot spot on the neutron star surface. Assuming a distance of 6.5 kpc, we measure a peak X-ray luminosity of $1.9\times10^{35}$ erg/s, lower than its spin-down luminosity of $7.2\times10^{35}$ erg/s. Its quiescent thermal luminosity is $\lesssim 1.7\times10^{34}$ erg/s, lower than those of canonical young magnetars. We conclude that Swift J1818.0-1607 is an important link between regular magnetars and high magnetic field rotation powered pulsars., Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, 2tables, accepted for publication in ApJ

Magnetars are young, rotating neutron stars that possess larger magnetic fields ($B$ $\approx$ $10^{13}$-$10^{15}$ G) and longer rotational periods ($P$ $\approx$ 1-12 s) than ordinary pulsars. In contrast to rotation-powered pulsars, magnetar emission is thought to be fueled by the evolution and decay of their powerful magnetic fields. They display highly variable radio and X-ray emission, but the processes responsible for this behavior remain a mystery. We report the discovery of bright, persistent individual X-ray pulses from XTE J1810-197, a transient radio magnetar, using the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) following its recent radio reactivation. Similar behavior has only been previously observed from a magnetar during short time periods following a giant flare. However, the X-ray pulses presented here were detected outside of a flaring state. They are less energetic and display temporal structure that differs from the impulsive X-ray events previously observed from the magnetar class, such as giant flares and short X-ray bursts. Our high frequency radio observations of the magnetar, carried out simultaneously with the X-ray observations, demonstrate that the relative alignment between the X-ray and radio pulses varies on rotational timescales. No correlation was found between the amplitudes or temporal structure of the X-ray and radio pulses. The magnetar's 8.3 GHz radio pulses displayed frequency structure, which was not observed in the pulses detected simultaneously at 31.9 GHz. Many of the radio pulses were also not detected simultaneously at both frequencies, which indicates that the underlying emission mechanism producing these pulses is not broadband. We find that the radio pulses from XTE J1810-197 share similar characteristics to radio bursts detected from fast radio burst (FRB) sources, some of which are now thought to be produced by active magnetars., Comment: 54 pages, 8 figures, Submitted for publication in Nature Astronomy

We present Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer X-ray and Arcminute Microkelvin Imager Large Array radio observations of a rapid hard-to-soft state transition in the black hole X-ray transient MAXI J1820+070. During the transition from the hard state to the soft state a switch between two particular types of quasiperiodic oscillations (QPOs) was seen in the X-ray power density spectra, from type-C to type-B, along with a drop in the strength of the broadband X-ray variability and a brief flare in the 7-12 keV band. Soon after this switch (~1.5-2.5 hr) a strong radio flare was observed that corresponded to the launch of superluminal ejecta. Although hints of a connection between QPO transitions and radio flares have been seen in other black hole X-ray transients, our observations constitute the strongest observational evidence to date for a link between the appearance of type-B QPOs and the launch of discrete jet ejections., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters

Recent modeling of NICER observations of thermal X-ray pulsations from the surface of the isolated millisecond pulsar PSR J0030+0451 suggests that the hot emitting regions on the pulsar's surface are far from antipodal, which is at odds with the classical assumption that the magnetic field in the pulsar magnetosphere is predominantly that of a centered dipole. Here, we review these results and examine previous attempts to constrain the magnetospheric configuration of PSR J0030+0451. To the best of our knowledge, there is in fact no direct observational evidence that PSR J0030+0451's magnetic field is a centered dipole. Developing models of physically motivated, non-canonical magnetic field configurations and the currents that they can support poses a challenging task. However, such models may have profound implications for many aspects of pulsar research, including pulsar braking, estimates of birth velocities, and interpretations of multi-wavelength magnetospheric emission., Comment: Appears in ApJ Letters Focus Issue on NICER Constraints on the Dense Matter Equation of State

We describe the model of surface emission from a rapidly rotating neutron star that is applied to Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer X-ray data of millisecond pulsars in order to statistically constrain the neutron star mass-radius relation and dense matter equation of state. To ensure that the associated calculations are both accurate and precise, we conduct an extensive suite of verification tests between our numerical codes for both the Schwarzschild + Doppler and Oblate Schwarzschild approximations, and compare both approximations against exact numerical calculations. We find superb agreement between the code outputs, as well as in comparison against a set of analytical and semi-analytical calculations, which combined with their speed, demonstrates that the codes are well-suited for large-scale statistical sampling applications. A set of verified, high-precision reference synthetic pulse profiles is provided to the community to facilitate testing of other independently developed codes., Comment: 31 pages, 14 figures; accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters

We present the set of deep Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) X-ray timing observations of the nearby rotation-powered millisecond pulsars PSRs J0437-4715, J0030+0451, J1231-1411, and J2124-3358, selected as targets for constraining the mass-radius relation of neutron stars and the dense matter equation of state via modeling of their pulsed thermal X-ray emission. We describe the instrument, observations, and data processing/reduction procedures, as well as the series of investigations conducted to ensure that the properties of the data sets are suitable for parameter estimation analyses to produce reliable constraints on the neutron star mass-radius relation and the dense matter equation of state. We find that the long-term timing and flux behavior and the Fourier-domain properties of the event data do not exhibit any anomalies that could adversely affect the intended measurements. From phase-selected spectroscopy, we find that emission from the individual pulse peaks is well described by a single-temperature hydrogen atmosphere spectrum, with the exception of PSR J0437-4715, for which multiple temperatures are required., Comment: 28 pages, 9 figures; accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters

We report on Bayesian parameter estimation of the mass and equatorial radius of the millisecond pulsar PSR J0030$+$0451, conditional on pulse-profile modeling of Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) X-ray spectral-timing event data. We perform relativistic ray-tracing of thermal emission from hot regions of the pulsar's surface. We assume two distinct hot regions based on two clear pulsed components in the phase-folded pulse-profile data; we explore a number of forms (morphologies and topologies) for each hot region, inferring their parameters in addition to the stellar mass and radius. For the family of models considered, the evidence (prior predictive probability of the data) strongly favors a model that permits both hot regions to be located in the same rotational hemisphere. Models wherein both hot regions are assumed to be simply-connected circular single-temperature spots, in particular those where the spots are assumed to be reflection-symmetric with respect to the stellar origin, are strongly disfavored. For the inferred configuration, one hot region subtends an angular extent of only a few degrees (in spherical coordinates with origin at the stellar center) and we are insensitive to other structural details; the second hot region is far more azimuthally extended in the form of a narrow arc, thus requiring a larger number of parameters to describe. The inferred mass $M$ and equatorial radius $R_\mathrm{eq}$ are, respectively, $1.34_{-0.16}^{+0.15}$ M$_{\odot}$ and $12.71_{-1.19}^{+1.14}$ km, whilst the compactness $GM/R_\mathrm{eq}c^2 = 0.156_{-0.010}^{+0.008}$ is more tightly constrained; the credible interval bounds reported here are approximately the $16\%$ and $84\%$ quantiles in marginal posterior mass., Comment: Appears in ApJ Letters Focus Issue on NICER Constraints on the Dense Matter Equation of State; 76 pages, 24 figures, 7 tables, 8 figure sets (available in the online journal or from the authors)

In this paper we present a coherent timing analysis of the 401 Hz pulsations of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658 during its 2019 outburst. Using observations collected with the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), we establish the pulsar spin frequency and orbital phase during its latest epoch. We find that the 2019 outburst shows a pronounced evolution in pulse phase over the course of the outburst. These phase shifts are found to correlate with the source flux, and are interpreted in terms of hot-spot drift on the stellar surface, driven by changes in the mass accretion rate. Additionally, we find that the long-term evolution of the pulsar spin frequency shows evidence for a modulation at the Earth's orbital period, enabling pulsar timing based astrometry of this accreting millisecond pulsar., Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to ApJ

We present a spectral study of the ultraluminous Be/X-ray transient pulsar Swift J0243.6+6124 using Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) observations during the system's 2017--2018 giant outburst. The 1.2--10~keV energy spectrum of the source can be approximated with an absorbed cut-off power law model. We detect strong, luminosity-dependent emission lines in the 6--7 keV energy range. A narrow 6.42 keV line, observed in the sub-Eddington regime, is seen to evolve into a broad Fe-line profile in the super-Eddington regime. Other features are found at 6.67 and 6.97 keV in the Fe-line complex. An asymmetric broad line profile, peaking at 6.67 keV, is possibly due to Doppler effects and gravitational redshift. The 1.2--79 keV broadband spectrum from NuSTAR and NICER observations at the outburst peak is well described by an absorbed cut-off power law plus multiple Gaussian lines and a blackbody component. Physical reflection models are also tested to probe the broad iron line feature. Depending on the mass accretion rate, we found emission sites that are evolving from ~5000 km to a range closer to the surface of the neutron star. Our findings are discussed in the framework of the accretion disk and its implication on the magnetic field, the presence of optically thick accretion curtain in the magnetosphere, jet emission, and the massive, ultra-fast outflow expected at super-Eddington accretion rates. We do not detect any signatures of a cyclotron absorption line in the NICER or NuSTAR data., Comment: 11 pages, 8 Figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ

The Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) has extensively monitored the August 2019 outburst of the 401 Hz millisecond X-ray pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658. In this Letter, we report on the detection of a bright helium-fueled Type I X-ray burst. With a bolometric peak flux of $(2.3\pm0.1)\times 10^{-7}$ erg/cm^2/s, this was the brightest X-ray burst among all bursting sources observed with NICER to date. The burst shows a remarkable two-stage evolution in flux, emission lines at $1.0$ keV and $6.7$ keV, and burst oscillations at the known pulsar spin frequency, with $\approx4$\% fractional sinusoidal amplitude. We interpret the burst flux evolution as the detection of the local Eddington limits associated with the hydrogen and helium layers of the neutron star envelope. The emission lines are likely associated with Fe, due to reprocessing of the burst emission in the accretion disk., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, submitted to ApJ Letters

We report for the first time below 1.5 keV, the detection of a secondary peak in an Eddington-limited thermonuclear X-ray burst observed by the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) from the low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1608-52. Our time-resolved spectroscopy of the burst is consistent with a model consisting of a varying-temperature blackbody, and an evolving persistent flux contribution, likely attributed to the accretion process. The dip in the burst intensity before the secondary peak is also visible in the bolometric flux. Prior to the dip, the blackbody temperature reached a maximum of $\approx3$ keV. Our analysis suggests that the dip and secondary peak are not related to photospheric expansion, varying circumstellar absorption, or scattering. Instead, we discuss the observation in the context of hydrodynamical instabilities, thermonuclear flame spreading models, and re-burning in the cooling tail of the burst., Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ

The Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) has observed seven thermonuclear X-ray bursts from the Low Mass X-ray Binary (LMXB) neutron star 4U 1728-34 from the start of the mission's operations until February of 2019. Three of these bursts show oscillations in their decaying tail with frequencies that are within 1 Hz of the previously detected burst oscillations from this source. Two of these burst oscillations have unusual properties: They have large fractional rms amplitudes of $ 48 \pm 9 \%$ and $ 46 \pm 9 \%$, and they are detected only at photon energies above 6 keV. By contrast, the third detected burst oscillation is compatible with previous observations of this source, with a fractional rms amplitude of $7.7 \pm 1.5\%$ rms in the 0.3 to 6.2 keV energy band. We discuss the implications of these large-amplitude burst oscillations, finding they are difficult to explain with the current theoretical models for X-ray burst tail oscillations., Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, published in ApJ 878, 2, 145

Thermally emitting X-ray isolated neutron stars represent excellent targets for testing cooling surface emission and atmosphere models, which are used to infer physical parameters of the neutron star. Among the seven known members of this class, RX J1605.3+3249 is the only one that still lacks confirmation of its spin period. Here we analyze NICER and XMM-Newton observations of RX J1605.3+3249, in order to address its timing and spectral behavior. Contrary to a previous tentative detection, but in agreement with the recent work by Pires et al. (2019), we find no significant pulsation with pulsed fraction higher than 1.3% (3{\sigma}) for periods above 150 ms. We also find a limit of 2.6% for periods above 2 ms, despite searches in different energy bands. The X-ray spectrum can be fit by either a double-blackbody model or by a single-temperature magnetized atmosphere model, both modified by a Gaussian absorption line at ~0.44 keV. The origin of the absorption feature as a proton cyclotron line or as an atomic transition in the neutron star atmosphere is discussed. The predictions of the best-fit X-ray models extended to IR, optical and UV bands are compared with archival data. Our results are interpreted in the framework of a fallback disk scenario., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ

We report the discovery of soft X-ray pulsations from the nearby millisecond pulsar PSR J1231$-$1411 using NICER. The pulsed emission is characterized by a broad and asymmetric main pulse and a much fainter secondary interpulse, with a total pulsed count rate of 0.055 c s$^{-1}$ in the 0.35-1.5 keV band. We analyzed Fermi LAT data to update the pulse timing model covering 10 years of data and used that model to coherently combine NICER data over a year of observations. Spectral modeling suggests that the flux is dominated by thermal emission from a hot spot (or spots) on the neutron star surface. The phase relationship between the X-ray pulse and the radio and $\gamma$ rays provides insight into the geometry of the system., Comment: ApJ Letters, in press

We present the earliest available soft X-ray observations of XTE J1810-187, the prototypical transient magnetar, obtained 75--84 days after its 2018 outburst with the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER). Using a series of observations covering eight days we find that its decreasing X-ray flux is well-described by either a blackbody plus power-law or a two-blackbody spectral model. The 2-10 keV flux of the source varied from (1.206+/-0.007)x10^{-10} to (1.125+/-0.004)x10^{-10} erg s^{-1} cm^{-2}, a decrease of about 7% within our observations and 44% from that measured 7-14 days after the outburst with NuSTAR. We confirm that the pulsed fraction and spin pulse phase of the neutron star are energy dependent up to at least 8 keV. Phase resolved spectroscopy of the pulsar suggests magnetospheric variations relative to the line of sight., Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters

We report on the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) monitoring campaign of the 468 Hz accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar IGR J17379-3747. From a detailed spectral and timing analysis of the coherent pulsations we find that they show a strong energy dependence, with soft thermal emission lagging about 640 microseconds behind the hard, Comptonized emission. Additionally, we observe uncommonly large pulse fractions, with measured amplitudes in excess of 20% sinusoidal fractional amplitude across the NICER passband and fluctuations of up to ~70%. Based on a phase-resolved spectral analysis, we suggest that these extreme properties might be explained if the source has an unusually favorable viewing geometry with a large magnetic misalignment angle. Due to these large pulse fractions, we were able to detect pulsations down to quiescent luminosities (~5 x 10^33 erg s^-1). We discuss these low-luminosity pulsations in the context of transitional millisecond pulsars., Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ

The unknown state of matter at ultra-high density, large proton/neutron number asymmetry, and low temperature is a major long-standing problem in modern physics. Neutron stars provide the only known setting in the Universe where matter in this regime can stably exist. Valuable information about the interior structure of neutron stars can be extracted via sensitive observations of their exteriors. There are several complementary techniques that require different combinations of high time resolution, superb spectral resolution, and high spatial resolution. In the upcoming decade and beyond, measurements of the masses and radii of an ensemble of neutron stars using these techniques, based on data from multiple proposed next-generation X-ray telescopes, can produce definitive empirical constraints on the allowed dense matter equation of state., Comment: Submitted in response to the Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey (Astro2020) call for Science White Papers; 8 pages, 2 figures

We present new timing and spectral analyses of PSR J1412+7922 (Calvera) and PSR J1849-0001, which are only seen as pulsars in X-rays, based on observations conducted with the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER). We obtain updated and substantially improved pulse ephemerides compared to previous X-ray studies, as well as spectra that can be well-fit by simple blackbodies and/or a power law. Our refined timing measurements enable deeper searches for pulsations at other wavelengths and sensitive targeted searches by LIGO/Virgo for continuous gravitational waves from these neutron stars. Using the sensitivity of LIGO's first observing run, we estimate constraints that a gravitational wave search of these pulsars would obtain on the size of their mass deformation and r-mode fluid oscillation., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures; submitted to the Astrophysical Journal

Accreting supermassive black holes (SMBHs) can exhibit variable emission across the electromagnetic spectrum and over a broad range of timescales. The variability of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in the ultraviolet and optical is usually at the few tens of per cent level over timescales of hours to weeks. Recently, rare, more dramatic changes to the emission from accreting SMBHs have been observed, including tidal disruption events, 'changing look' AGNs and other extreme variability objects. The physics behind the 're-ignition', enhancement and 'shut-down' of accretion onto SMBHs is not entirely understood. Here we present a rapid increase in ultraviolet-optical emission in the centre of a nearby galaxy, marking the onset of sudden increased accretion onto a SMBH. The optical spectrum of this flare, dubbed AT 2017bgt, exhibits a mix of emission features. Some are typical of luminous, unobscured AGNs, but others are likely driven by Bowen fluorescence - robustly linked here with high-velocity gas in the vicinity of the accreting SMBH. The spectral features and increased ultraviolet flux show little evolution over a period of at least 14 months. This disfavours the tidal disruption of a star as their origin, and instead suggests a longer-term event of intensified accretion. Together with two other recently reported events with similar properties, we define a new class of SMBH-related flares. This has important implications for the classification of different types of enhanced accretion onto SMBHs., Comment: Published in Nature Astronomy