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We present the results obtained from X-ray and optical analysis of the Be/X-ray binary IGR~J06074+2205, focusing on before, during, and after the X-ray outbursts in October and December 2023. The properties of the neutron star in the binary are investigated using NICER and NuSTAR observations during the X-ray outbursts. The pulse profiles across a broad energy range, are found to be strongly dependent on luminosity and energy, revealing the complex nature of the emitting region. An absorbed power-law can describe each NICER spectrum in the 1-7 keV band. The 3-79 keV NuSTAR spectrum can be well-described by a negative and positive power-law with an exponential cut-off model. Utilizing the MAXI/GSC long-term light curve, we estimate the probable orbital period to be 80 or 80/n (n=2,3,4) days. We investigate the evolution of the circumstellar disc around the Be star by using optical spectroscopic observations of the system between 2022 and 2024. We observe variable H$\alpha$ and FeII emission lines with an increase in equivalent width, indicating the presence of a dynamic circumstellar disc. A distinct variation in the V/R value for H$\alpha$ and FeII lines is also observed. The appearance of additional emission lines, such as HeI (5875.72 \AA), HeI (6678 \AA), and HeI (7065 \AA), during the post-outburst observation in February 2024 suggests the growing of a larger or denser circumstellar disc. The disc continues to grow without any noticeable mass loss, even during the 2023 X-ray outbursts, which may lead to a future giant X-ray outburst., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS

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 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

We report on X-ray (NICER/NuSTAR/MAXI/Swift) and radio (MeerKAT) timing and spectroscopic analysis from a three-month monitoring campaign in 2022 of a high-intensity outburst of the dipping neutron star low-mass X-ray binary 1A 1744-361. The 0.5-6.8 keV NICER X-ray hardness-intensity and color-color diagrams of the observations throughout the outburst suggests that 1A 1744-361 spent most of its outburst in an atoll-state, but we show that the source exhibited Z-state-like properties at the peak of the outburst, similar to a small sample of other atoll-state sources. A timing analysis with NICER data revealed several instances of an $\approx8$ Hz quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO; fractional rms amplitudes of ~5%) around the peak of the outburst, the first from this source, which we connect to the normal branch QPOs (NBOs) seen in the Z-state. Our observations of 1A 1744-361 are fully consistent with the idea of the mass accretion rate being the main distinguishing parameter between atoll- and Z-states. Radio monitoring data by MeerKAT suggests that the source was at its radio-brightest during the outburst peak, and that the source transitioned from the 'island' spectral state to the 'banana' state within ~3 days of the outburst onset, launching transient jet ejecta. The observations present the strongest evidence for radio flaring, including jet ejecta, during the island-to-banana spectral state transition at low accretion rates (atoll-state). The source also exhibited Fe XXV, Fe XXVI K$\alpha$, and K$\beta$ X-ray absorption lines, whose origins likely lie in an accretion disk atmosphere., Comment: 30 pages, 13 figures, and 8 tables. Accepted by ApJ (before proofs)

We present temporal and time-resolved spectral analyses of all the thermonuclear X-ray bursts observed from the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) 4U 1728-34 with NICER from June 2017 to September 2019. In total, we detected 11 X-ray bursts from the source and performed time-resolved spectroscopy. Unlike some of the earlier results for other bursting sources from NICER, our spectral results indicate that the use of a scaling factor for the persistent emission is not statistically necessary. This is primarily a result of the strong interstellar absorption in the line of sight towards 4U 1728-34, which causes the count rates to be significantly lower at low energies. We also searched for burst oscillations and detected modulations in six different bursts at around the previously known burst oscillation frequency of 363 Hz. Finally, we report the detection of oscillations prior to two bursts at 356 and 359 Hz, respectively. This is the first time in the literature where burst oscillations are detected before the rapid rise in X-ray flux, from any known burster. These oscillations disappear as soon as the burst rise starts and occur at a somewhat lower frequency than the oscillations we detect during the bursts., Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

Rare, energetic (long) thermonuclear (Type I) X-ray bursts are classified either as intermediate-duration or superbursts, based on their duration. Intermediate-duration bursts lasting a few to tens of minutes are thought to arise from the thermonuclear runaway of a relatively thick (10^10 g/cm2) helium layer, while superbursts lasting hours are attributed to the detonation of an underlying carbon layer. We present a catalogue of 84 long thermonuclear bursts from 40 low-mass X-ray binaries, and defined from a new set of criteria distinguishing them from the more frequent short bursts. The three criteria are: (1) a total energy release larger than 10^40 erg, (2) a photospheric radius expansion phase longer than 10 s, and (3) a burst time-scale longer than 70 s. This work is based on a comprehensive systematic analysis of 70 bursts found with INTEGRAL, RXTE, Swift, BeppoSAX, MAXI, and NICER, as well as 14 long bursts from the literature that were detected with earlier generations of X-ray instruments. For each burst, we measure its peak flux and fluence, which eventually allows us to confirm the distinction between intermediate-duration bursts and superbursts. Additionally, we list 18 bursts that only partially meet the above inclusion criteria, possibly bridging the gap between normal and intermediate-duration bursts. With this catalogue, we significantly increase the number of long-duration bursts included in the MINBAR and thereby provide a substantial sample of these rare X-ray bursts for further study., Comment: Published in MNRAS, 20 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables

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

We report results obtained from the optical and X-ray studies of the Be/X-ray binary 1A 0535+262/HD 245770 during the 2020 October giant X-ray outburst, using the 1.2 m telescope at Mount Abu Infrared observatory and AstroSat, respectively. The peak flux of the outburst was recorded to be around 11 Crab in the 15-50 keV range, the highest ever observed from the pulsar. We performed optical observations in the 6000-7200 angstroms band before, during, and after the outburst to investigate the evolution of the circumstellar disc of the Be star between 2020 February and 2022 February. Our optical spectra exhibit prominent emission lines at 6563 angstroms (H I), 6678 angstroms (He I), and 7065 angstroms (He I). We found a significantly variable Halpha line in the spectra. The single-peaked line profile appeared asymmetric with broad red- & blue-wings in the data before and during the outburst. The post-outburst observations, however, resulted in a double-peaked profile with asymmetry in the blue-wing. Our observations before the outburst confirmed a larger Be disc that decreased in size as the outburst progressed. Furthermore, the observed variabilities in the Halpha line profile and parameters suggest the presence of a highly misaligned, precessing, and warped Be disc. AstroSat observation of the pulsar detected pulsations at around 103.55 s in the light curve up to 110 keV. We found strongly energy-dependent pulse profiles with increasing contribution of the pulsing component in hard X-rays. The broadband spectral fitting in the 0.7-90.0 keV range confirmed the presence of the known cyclotron resonance scattering feature at around 46.3 keV., Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures, This paper has been accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present observations of the historic transient 4U 1730-22 as observed with the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER). After remaining in quiescence since its 1972 discovery, this X-ray binary showed renewed outburst activity in 2021 and 2022. We observed 4U 1730-22 extensively with NICER, detecting a total of 17 thermonuclear X-ray bursts. From a spectroscopic analysis, we find that these X-ray bursts can be divided into a group of bright and weak bursts. All bright bursts showed $1\sim2$ second rise times and a photospheric radius expansion phase, while the weak bursts showed a slower $\sim5$ second rise with a tendency for concave shapes. From the photospheric radius expansion flux, we estimate the source distance at $6.9\pm0.2$ kpc. We consider various interpretations for our observations and suggest that they may be explained if accreted material is burning stably at the stellar equator, and unstable ignition occurs at a range of higher latitudes., Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication 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 the detection of 51 thermonuclear X-ray bursts observed from 4U 1636-536 by the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) over the course of a three year monitoring campaign. We performed time resolved spectroscopy for 40 of these bursts and showed the existence of a strong soft excess in all the burst spectra. The excess emission can be characterized by the use of a scaling factor (f_a method) to the persistent emission of the source, which is attributed to the increased mass accretion rate on to the neutron star due to Poynting-Robertson drag. The soft excess emission can also be characterized by the use of a model taking into account the reflection of the burst emission off of the accretion disk. We also present time resolved spectral analysis of 5 X-ray bursts simultaneously observed by NICER and AstroSat, which confirm the main results with even greater precision. Finally, we present evidence for Compton cooling using 7 X-ray bursts observed contemporaneously with \nustar, by means of a correlated decrease in the hard X-ray lightcurve of 4U 1636-536 as the bursts start., Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

We present the results obtained from broadband X-ray timing and spectral analysis of black hole candidate MAXI J1803-298 using an AstroSat observation on May 11-12, 2021. Four periodic absorption dips with a periodicity of $7.02 \pm 0.18$ hour are detected in the light curve. AstroSat observe the source when it was undergoing a transition from hard-intermediate state to soft-intermediate state. Our timing analysis reveals the presence of a sharp type-C quasi periodic oscillation (QPO) in the power density spectra (PDS) with an evolving QPO frequency ranging from $5.31 \pm 0.02$ Hz to $7.61\pm 0.09$ Hz. We investigate the energy dependence of the QPO and do not find this feature in the PDS above 30 keV. The combined $0.7-80$ keV SXT and LAXPC spectra are fitted with a model consisting of thermal multi-colour blackbody emission and Comptonized emission components. We perform time-resolved spectroscopy by extracting spectra during the dip and non-dip phases of the observation. A neutral absorber is detected during the dip and non-dip phases though a signature of an ionized absorber is also present in the dip phases. The spectral and temporal parameters are found to evolve during our observation. We estimate the mass function of the system as $f(M) = 2.1-7.2~M_{\odot}$ and the mass of the black hole candidate in the range of $M_{\rm BH} \sim 3.5-12.5~M_{\odot}$., Comment: 16 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Accreting X-ray pulsars (XRPs) undergo luminous X-ray outbursts during which the luminosity-dependent spectral and timing features of the neutron star's emission can be analyzed in detail, thus shedding light on the accretion regime at work. We took advantage of a monitoring campaign performed with NuSTAR, Swift/XRT, AstroSat and NICER, to follow the Be/X-ray Binary 2S 1553-542 along one of its rare outbursts and trace its spectral and timing evolution. We report the discovery of a luminosity-dependent cyclotron line energy for the first time in this source. The pulse profiles and pulsed fraction also show variability along the outburst, consistently with the interpretation that the source transitions from the sub-critical to the super-critical accretion regime, separated by a critical luminosity of L$_{crit}\approx4\times10^{37}$ erg/s., Comment: Accepted on ApJ. 11 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables

We present spectral and temporal properties of all the thermonuclear X-ray bursts observed from Aql X-1 by the Neutron Star Interior and Composition Explorer (NICER) between 2017 July and 2021 April. This is the first systematic investigation of a large sample of type I X-ray bursts from Aql X-1 with improved sensitivity at low energies. We detect 22 X-ray bursts including two short recurrence burst events in which the separation was only 451 s and 496 s. We perform time resolved spectroscopy of the bursts using the fixed and scaled background (f_a method) approaches. We show that the use of a scaling factor to the pre-burst emission is the statistically preferred model in about 68% of all the spectra compared to the fixed background approach. Typically the f_a values are clustered around 1-3, but can reach up to 11 in a burst where photospheric radius expansion is observed. Such f_a values indicate a very significant increase in the pre-burst emission especially at around the peak flux moments of the bursts. We show that the use of the f_a factor alters the best fit spectral parameters of the burst emission. Finally, we employed a reflection model instead of scaling the pre-burst emission. We show that reflection models also do fit the spectra and improve the goodness of the fits. In all cases we see that the disc is highly ionized by the burst emission and the fraction of the reprocessed emission to the incident burst flux is typically clustered around 20%., Comment: Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

We present the broadband spectral analysis of all the six hard, intermediate and soft state NuSTAR observations of the recently discovered transient black hole X-ray binary MAXI J1348-630 during its first outburst in 2019. We first model the data with a combination of a multi-colour disc and a relativistic blurred reflection, and, whenever needed, a distant reflection. We find that this simple model scheme is inadequate in explaining the spectra, resulting in a very high iron abundance. We, therefore, explore the possibility of reflection from a high-density disc. We use two different sets of models to describe the high-density disc reflection: relxill-based reflection models, and reflionx-based ones. The reflionx-based high-density disc reflection models bring down the iron abundance to around the solar value, while the density is found to be $10^{20.3-21.4} \rm cm^{-3}$. We also find evidence of a high-velocity outflow in the form of $\sim$7.3 keV absorption lines. The consistency between the best-fit parameters for different epochs and the statistical significance of the corresponding model indicates the existence of high-density disc reflection in MAXI J1348-630., Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, 5 tables; accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present the results obtained from detailed spectral and timing studies of extra-galactic black hole X-ray binaries LMC~X--1 and LMC~X--3, using simultaneous observations with {\it Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR)} and {\it Neil Gehrels Swift} observatories. The combined spectra in the $0.5-30$~keV energy range, obtained between 2014 and 2019, are investigated for both sources. We do not find any noticeable variability in $0.5-30$~keV light curves, with $0.1-10$~Hz fractional rms estimated to be $<2$\%. No evidence of quasi-periodic oscillations is found in the power density spectra. The sources are found to be in the high soft state during the observations with disc temperature $T_{\rm in}\sim 1$~keV, photon index, $\Gamma > 2.5$ and thermal emission fraction, $f_{\rm disc}>80$\%. An Fe K$\alpha$ emission line is detected in the spectra of LMC~X--1, though no such feature is observed in the spectra of LMC~X--3. From the spectral modelling, the spins of the black holes in LMC~X--1 and LMC~X--3 are estimated to be in the range of $0.92-0.95$ and $0.19-0.29$, respectively. The accretion efficiency is found to be, $\eta \sim 0.13$ and $\eta \sim 0.04$ for LMC~X--1 and LMC~X--3, respectively., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS. Comments are welcome

The soft gamma-ray repeater Swift J1555.2-5402 was discovered by means of a 12-ms duration short burst detected with Swift BAT on 2021 June 3. Then 1.6 hours after the first burst detection, NICER started daily monitoring of this X-ray source for a month. The absorbed 2-10 keV flux stays nearly constant at around 4e-11 erg/s/cm2 during the monitoring timespan, showing only a slight gradual decline. A 3.86-s periodicity is detected, and the time derivative of this period is measured to be 3.05(7)e-11 s/s. The soft X-ray pulse shows a single sinusoidal shape with a root-mean-square pulsed fraction that increases as a function of energy from 15% at 1.5 keV to 39% at 7 keV. The equatorial surface magnetic field, characteristic age, and spin-down luminosity are derived under the dipole field approximation to be 3.5e+14 G, 2.0 kyr, and 2.1e+34 erg/s, respectively. An absorbed blackbody with a temperature of 1.1 keV approximates the soft X-ray spectrum. Assuming a source distance of 10 kpc, the peak X-ray luminosity is ~8.5e+35 erg/s in the 2--10 keV band. During the period of observations, we detect 5 and 37 short bursts with Swift/BAT and NICER, respectively. Based on these observational properties, especially the inferred strong magnetic field, this new source is classified as a magnetar. We also coordinated hard X-ray and radio observations with NuSTAR, DSN, and VERA. A hard X-ray power-law component that extends up to at least 40 keV is detected at 3-sigma significance. The 10-60 keV flux, which is dominated by the power-law component, is ~9e-12 erg/s/cm2 with a photon index of ~1.2. The pulsed fraction has a sharp cutoff above 10 keV, down to ~10% in the hard-tail component band. No radio pulsations are detected during the DSN nor VERA observations. We place 7{\sigma} upper limits of 0.043mJy and 0.026 mJy on the flux density at S-band and X-band, respectively., Comment: 26 pages, 7 figures (3 figures in the appendix), 10 tables (9 tables in the appendix). Submitted to ApJL

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

We performed a detailed spectral and timing analysis of a Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 509 using data from the Neil Gehrels Swift observatory that spanned over ~13 years between 2006 and 2019. To study the variability properties from the optical/UV to X-ray emission, we used a total of 275 pointed observations in this work. The average spectrum over the entire duration exhibits a strong soft X-ray excess above the power-law continuum. The soft X-ray excess is well described by two thermal components with temperatures of kT_BB1 ~120 eV and kT_BB2 ~460 eV. The warm thermal component is likely due to the presence of an optically thick and warm Comptonizing plasma in the inner accretion disk. The fractional variability amplitude is found to be decreasing with increasing wavelength, i.e. from the soft X-ray to UV/optical emission. However, the hard X-ray (2-8 keV) emission shows very low variability. The strength of the correlation within the UV and the optical bands (0.95-0.99) is found to be stronger than the correlation between the UV/Optical and X-ray bands (0.40-0.53). These results clearly suggest that the emitting regions of the X-ray and UV/optical emission are likely distinct or partly interacting. Having removed the slow variations in the light curves, we find that the lag spectrum is well described by the 4/3 rule for the standard Shakura-Sunyaev accretion disk when we omit X-ray lags. All these results suggest that the real disk is complex, and the UV emission is likely reprocessed in the accretion disk to give X-ray and optical emission., Comment: This article has been accepted to the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia (PASA). This article contains 17 pages and 13 figures

We study the nature of the changing-look Active Galactic Nucleus NGC 1566 during its June 2018 outburst. During the outburst, the X-ray intensity of the source rises up to ~25-30 times compared to its quiescent state intensity. We perform timing and spectral analysis of the source during pre-outburst, outburst, and post-outburst epochs using semi-simultaneous observations with the XMM-Newton, Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), and Neil Gehrels Swift Observatories. We calculate variance, normalized variance, and fractional rms amplitude in different energy bands to study the variability. The broad-band 0.5-70 keV spectra are fitted with phenomenological models, as well as physical models. A strong soft X-ray excess is detected in the spectra during the outburst. The soft excess emission is found to be complex and could originate in the warm Comptonizing region in the inner accretion disc. We find that the increase in the accretion rate is responsible for the sudden rise in luminosity. This is supported by the q-shape of the hardness-intensity diagram that is generally found in outbursting black hole X-ray binaries. From our analysis, we find that NGC 1566 most likely harbours a low-spinning black hole with the spin parameter a* ~ 0.2. We also discuss a scenario where the central core of NGC 1566 could be a merging supermassive black hole., Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRAS

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 present the results obtained from detailed timing and spectral studies of a black hole candidate MAXI~J1813-095 using {\it Swift}, {\it NICER}, and {\it NuSTAR} observations during its 2018 outburst. The timing behaviour of the source is mainly studied by using {\it NICER} light curves in a $0.5-10$ keV range. We did not find any signature of quasi-periodic oscillations in the power density spectra of the source. We carry out spectral analysis with a combined disk blackbody \& power-law model, and a physical two-component advective flow (TCAF) model. From the combined {\tt disk blackbody} \& {\tt power-law} model, we extracted thermal and non-thermal fluxes, photon index, and inner disk temperature. We also find evidence for weak reflection in the spectra. We have tested the physical TCAF model on a broadband spectrum from {\it NuSTAR} and {\it Swift}/XRT. The parameters like mass accretion rates, the size of the Compton clouds and the shock strength are extracted. Our result shows that the source remained in the hard state during the entire outburst which indicates a `failed' outburst. We estimate the mass of the black hole as $7.4 \pm 1.5$ $M_{\odot}$ from the spectral study with the TCAF model. We use {\tt LAOR} model for the Fe K$\alpha$ line emission. From this, the spin parameter of the black hole is estimated as $a^* > 0.76$. The inclination angle of the system is estimated to be in the range of $28^{\circ} - 45^{\circ}$ from the reflection model. We estimate the source distance to be $\sim 6$ kpc., Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in Research in Astronomy & Astrophysics

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 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

We present the results obtained from analysis of two AstroSat observations of the high mass X-ray binary pulsar OAO 1657-415. The observations covered 0.681-0.818 and 0.808-0.968 phases of the $\sim$10.4 day orbital period of the system, in March and July 2019, respectively. Despite being outside the eclipsing regime, the power density spectrum from the first observation lacks any signature of pulsation or quasi-periodic oscillations. However, during July observation, X-ray pulsations at a period of 37.0375 s were clearly detected in the light curves. The pulse profiles from the second observation consist of a broad single peak with a dip-like structure in the middle across the observed energy range. We explored evolution of the pulse profile in narrow time and energy segments. We detected pulsations in the light curves obtained from 0.808--0.92 orbital phase range, which is absent in the remaining part of the observation. The spectrum of OAO 1657-415 can be described by an absorbed power-law model along with an iron fluorescent emission line and a blackbody component for out-of-eclipse phase of the observation. Our findings are discussed in the frame of stellar wind accretion and accretion wake at late orbital phases of the binary., Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures and 2 tables; Accepted for publication in the Journal of Astrophysics & Astronomy

We present the results obtained from timing and spectral studies of Be/X-ray binary pulsar EXO 2030+375 using observations with the Large Area Xenon Proportional Counters and Soft X-ray Telescope of AstroSat, at various phases of its Type-I outbursts in 2016, 2018, and 2020. The pulsar was faint during these observations as compared to earlier observations with other observatories. At the lowest luminosity of 2.5$\times$10$^{35}$ erg s$^{-1}$ in 0.5--30 keV energy range, $\approx$41.3 s pulsations were clearly detected in the X-ray light curves. This finding establishes the first firm detection of pulsations in EXO 2030+375 at an extremely low mass accretion rate to date. The shape of the pulse profiles is complex due to the presence of several narrow dips. Though pulsations were detected up to $\sim$80 keV when the source was brighter, pulsations were limited up to $\sim$25 keV during the third AstroSat observation at lowest source luminosity. A search for quasi-periodic oscillations in 2$\times$10$^{-4}$ Hz to 10 Hz yielded a negative result. Spectral analysis of the AstroSat data showed that the spectrum of the pulsar was steep with a power-law index of $\sim$2. The values of photon-indices at observed low luminosities follow the known pattern in sub-critical regime of the pulsar., Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures and 2 tables; Accepted for publication in the Journal of Astrophysics & Astronomy

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

Here, we present MAXI, SWIFT, NICER, NuSTAR and Chandra observations of the X-ray transient AT2019wey (SRGA J043520.9+552226, SRGE J043523.3+552234). From spectral and timing analyses we classify it as a Galactic low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) with a black hole (BH) or neutron star (NS) accretor. AT2019wey stayed in the low/hard state (LHS) from 2019 December to 2020 August 21, and the hard-intermediate state (HIMS) from 2020 August 21 to 2020 November. For the first six months of the LHS, AT2019wey had a flux of $\sim 1$ mCrab, and displayed a power-law X-ray spectrum with photon index $\Gamma = 1.8$. From 2020 June to August, it brightened to $\sim 20$ mCrab. Spectral features characteristic of relativistic reflection became prominent. On 2020 August 21, the source left the "hard line" on the rms--intensity diagram, and transitioned from LHS to HIMS. The thermal disk component became comparable to the power-law component. A low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) was observed. The QPO central frequency increased as the spectrum softened. No evidence of pulsation was detected. We are not able to decisively determine the nature of the accretor (BH or NS). However, the BH option is favored by the position of this source on the $\Gamma$--$L_{\rm X}$, $L_{\rm radio}$--$L_{\rm X}$, and $L_{\rm opt}$--$L_{\rm X}$ diagrams. We find the BH candidate XTE J1752-223 to be an analog of AT2019wey. Both systems display outbursts with long plateau phases in the hard states. We conclude by noting the potential of SRG in finding new members of this emerging class of low luminosity and long-duration LMXB outbursts., Comment: Accepted by ApJ

SwiftJ0243.6+6124, the first Galactic ultra-luminous X-ray pulsar, was observed during its 2017-2018 outburst with \emph{AstroSat} at both sub- and super-Eddington levels of accretionwith X-ray luminosities of $L_{X}{\sim}7{\times}10^{37}$ and $6{\times}10^{38}$$ergs^{-1}$, respectively.Our broadband timing and spectral observations show that X-ray pulsations at ${\sim}9.85\rm{s}$ have been detected up to 150keV when the source was accreting at the super-Eddington level.The pulse profiles are a strong function of both energy and source luminosity,showing a double-peaked profile with pulse fraction increasing from $\sim$$10{\%}$ at $1.65\rm{keV}$ to 40--80$\%$ at $70\rm{keV}$.The continuum X-ray spectra are well-modeled with a high energy cut-off power law($\Gamma$${\sim}$0.6-0.7) and one or two blackbody components with temperatures of $\sim$0.35$\rm{keV}$ and $1.2\rm{keV}$, depending on the accretion level.No iron line emission is observed at sub-Eddington level, while a broad emission feature at around 6.9keV is observed at the super-Eddington level, along with a blackbody radius($121-142\rm{km}$) that indicates the presence of optically thick outflows., Comment: 13 pages, accepted for publication in MNRAS

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

PSR J1813-1749 is one of the most energetic rotation-powered pulsars known, producing a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) and gamma-ray and TeV emission, but whose spin period is only measurable in X-ray. We present analysis of two Chandra datasets that are separated by more than ten years and recent NICER data. The long baseline of the Chandra data allows us to derive a pulsar proper motion mu_R.A.=-(0.067"+/-0.010") yr^-1 and mu_decl.=-(0.014"+/-0.007") yr^-1 and velocity v_perp~900-1600 km/s (assuming a distance d=3-5 kpc), although we cannot exclude a contribution to the change in measured pulsar position due to a change in brightness structure of the PWN very near the pulsar. We model the PWN and pulsar spectra using an absorbed power law and obtain best-fit absorption NH=(13.1+/-0.9)x10^22 cm^-2, photon index Gamma=1.5+/-0.1, and 0.3-10 keV luminosity Lx~5.4x10^34 erg/s (d/5 kpc)^2 for the PWN and Gamma=1.2+/-0.1 and Lx~9.3x10^33 erg/s (d/5 kpc)^2 for PSR J1813-1749. These values do not change between the 2006 and 2016 observations. We use NICER observations from 2019 to obtain a timing model of PSR J1813-1749, with spin frequency nu=22.35 Hz and spin frequency time derivative nudot=(-6.428+/-0.003)x10^-11 Hz/s. We also fit nu measurements from 2009-2012 and our 2019 value and find a long-term spin-down rate nudot=(-6.3445+/-0.0004)x10^-11 Hz/s. We speculate that the difference in spin-down rates is due to glitch activity or emission mode switching., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures; accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present the results obtained from the analysis of high mass X-ray binary pulsar 4U 1909+07 using NuSTAR and Astrosat observations in 2015 and 2017 July, respectively. X-ray pulsations at $\approx$604 s are clearly detected in our study. Based on the long term spin-frequency evolution, the source is found to spun up in the last 17 years. We observed a strongly energy-dependent pulse profile that evolved from a complex broad structure in soft X-rays into a profile with a narrow emission peak followed by a plateau in energy ranges above 20 keV. This behaviour ensured a positive correlation between the energy and pulse fraction. The pulse profile morphology and its energy-evolution are almost similar during both the observations, suggesting a persistent emission geometry of the pulsar over time. The broadband energy spectrum of the pulsar is approximated by an absorbed high energy exponential cutoff power law model with iron emission lines. In contrast to the previous report, we found no statistical evidence for the presence of cyclotron absorption features in the X-ray spectra. We performed phase-resolved spectroscopy by using data from the NuSTAR observation. Our results showed a clear signature of absorbing material at certain pulse-phases of the pulsar. These findings are discussed in terms of stellar wind distribution and its effect on the beam geometry of this wind-fed accreting neutron star. We also reviewed the subsonic quasi-spherical accretion theory and its implication on the magnetic field of 4U 1909+07 depending on the global spin-up rate., Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures; Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We report the results obtained from a detailed timing and spectral studies of Be/X-ray binary pulsar 2S 1417-624 using data from Swift and NuSTAR observatories. The observations were carried out at the peak of a giant outburst of the pulsar in 2018. X-ray pulsations at 17.475 s were detected in the source light curves up to ~79 keV. The evolution of the pulse profiles with energy was found to be complex. A four-peaked profile at lower energies gradually evolved into a double-peak structure at higher energies. The pulsed fraction of the pulsar, calculated from the NuSTAR observation was found to follow an anti-correlation trend with luminosity as observed during previous giant X-ray outburst studies in 2009. The broadband spectrum of the pulsar is well described by a composite model consisting of a cutoff power law model modified with the interstellar absorption, a thermal blackbody component with a temperature of $\approx$1 keV and a Gaussian function for the 6.4 keV iron emission line. Though the pulsar was observed at the peak of the giant outburst, there was no signature of presence of any cyclotron line feature in the spectrum. The radius of the blackbody emitting region was estimated to be $\approx$2 km, suggesting that the most probable site of its origin is the stellar surface of the neutron star. Physical models were also explored to understand the emission geometry of the pulsar and are discussed in the paper., Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRAS

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 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

Studying the physical processes occurring in the region just above the magnetic poles of strongly magnetized, accreting binary neutron stars is essential to our understanding of stellar and binary system evolution. Perhaps more importantly, it provides us with a natural laboratory for studying the physics of high temperature and high density plasmas exposed to extreme radiation, gravitational, and magnetic fields. Observations over the past decade have shed new light on the manner in which plasma falling at velocities near the speed of light onto a neutron star surface is halted. Recent advances in modeling these processes have resulted in direct measurement of the magnetic fields and plasma properties. On the other hand, numerous physical processes have been identified that challenge our current picture of how the accretion process onto neutron stars works. Observation and theory are our essential tools in this regime because the extreme conditions cannot be duplicated on Earth. This white paper gives an overview of the current theory, the outstanding theoretical and observational challenges, and the importance of addressing them in contemporary astrophysics research., Comment: Astro2020 Science White Paper. 10 pages, 5 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

We present evidence for three spin-down glitches (or `anti-glitches') in the ultraluminous accreting X-ray pulsar NGC 300 ULX-1 in timing observations made with the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER). Our timing analysis reveals three sudden spin-down events of magnitudes $\Delta\nu = -23, -30,$ and $-43 \,\mu$Hz (fractional amplitudes $\Delta\nu/\nu = -4.4, -5.5,$ and $-7.7 \times 10^{-4}$). We determined fully phase-coherent timing solutions through the first two glitches, giving us high confidence in their detection, while the third candidate glitch is somewhat less secure. These are larger in magnitude (and opposite in sign) than any known radio pulsar glitch. This may be caused by the prolonged rapid spin-up of the pulsar causing a sudden transfer of angular momentum between the superfluid and non-superfluid components of the star. We find no evidence for profile or spectral changes at the epochs of the glitches, supporting the conclusion that these are due to the same process as in normal pulsar glitches, but in reverse., Comment: ApJ, accepted

We present results of recent Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer observations of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar IGR J17062-6143 that show that it resides in a circular, ultracompact binary with a 38 minute orbital period. NICER observed the source for approximately 26 ksec over a 5.3 day span in 2017 August, and again for 14 and 11 ksec in 2017 October and November, respectively. A power spectral analysis of the August exposure confirms the previous detection of pulsations at 163.656 Hz in Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer data, and reveals phase modulation due to orbital motion of the neutron star. A coherent search for the orbital solution using the Z^2 method finds a best-fitting circular orbit with a period of 2278.21 s (37.97 min), a projected semi-major axis of 0.00390 lt-sec, and a barycentric pulsar frequency of 163.6561105 Hz. This is currently the shortest known orbital period for an AMXP. The mass function is 9.12 e-8} solar masses, presently the smallest known for a stellar binary. The minimum donor mass ranges from about 0.005 - 0.007 solar masses, for a neutron star mass from 1.2 - 2 solar masses. Assuming mass transfer is driven by gravitational radiation, we find donor mass and binary inclination bounds of 0.0175 - 0.0155 solar masses and 19 deg < i < 27.5 deg, where the lower and upper bounds correspond to 1.4 and 2 solar mass neutron stars, respectively. Folding the data accounting for the orbital modulation reveals a sinusoidal profile with fractional amplitude 2.04 +- 0.11 % (0.3 - 3.2 keV)., Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters

We report the discovery with the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) of mHz X-ray brightness oscillations from the "clocked burster." NICER observed the source in the periods 2017 June 20 - 29, July 11 - 13, and September 9 - 15, for a total useful exposure of 34 ks. Two consecutive dwells obtained on 2017 September 9 revealed highly significant oscillations at a frequency of 8 mHz. The fractional, sinusoidal modulation amplitude increases from 0.7 % at 1 keV to approximately 2 % at 6 keV. Similar oscillations were also detected at lower significance in three additional dwells. The oscillation frequency and amplitude are consistent with those of mHz QPOs reported in other accreting neutron star systems. A thermonuclear X-ray burst was also observed on 2017 June 22. The burst properties and X-ray colors are both consistent with the source being in a soft spectral state during these observations, findings that are confirmed by ongoing monitoring with MAXI and SWIFT-BAT. Assuming that the mHz oscillations are associated with black body emission from the neutron star surface, modeling of the phase-resolved spectra shows that the oscillation is consistent with being produced by modulation of the temperature component of this emission. In this interpretation, the black body normalization, proportional to the emitting surface area, is consistent with being constant through the oscillation cycle. We place the observations in the context of the current theory of marginally stable burning and briefly discuss the potential for constraining neutron star properties using mHz oscillations., Comment: 26 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

We report on the coherent timing analysis of the 182 Hz accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar Swift J1756.9$-$2508 during its 2018 outburst as observed with the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER). Combining our NICER observations with Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer observations of the 2007 and 2009 outbursts, we also studied the long-term spin and orbital evolution of this source. We find that the binary system is well described by a constant orbital period model, with an upper limit on the orbital period derivative of $|\dot P_b| < 7.4\times 10^{-13}$ s s$^{-1}$. Additionally, we improve upon the source coordinates through astrometric analysis of the pulse arrival times, finding R.A. = $17^{\rm h}56^{\rm m}57.18^{\rm s}\pm0.08^{\rm s}$ and Decl. = $-25^{\circ}06'27.8''\pm3.5''$, while simultaneously measuring the long-term spin frequency derivative as $\dot\nu = -7.3\times 10^{-16}$ Hz s$^{-1}$. We briefly discuss the implications of these measurements in the context of the wider population of accreting millisecond pulsars., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ

We present the results obtained from timing and spectral studies of the accretion powered X-ray pulsar 2S~1417-624 during a giant outburst in 2009 by using {\it Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE)} observations. X-ray pulsations were detected in the light curves obtained from all epochs of observations. The pulsar was found to be spinning-up during the outburst. The pulse profiles were observed to be strongly dependent on photon energy and luminosity. A double peaked profile at lower luminosity evolved into a triple peaked profile at the peak of the outburst which is further reverted back to a double peaked structure during the decay of the outburst. An anti-correlation was also observed between the pulse fraction and the source flux. The 3-70 keV energy spectrum of pulsar was well described with a power law modified with high energy cutoff model along with an iron fluorescence line at 6.4 keV. Based on the evolution of pulse profile, pulse fraction and spectral parameters across observed luminosity, we interpret our results in terms of changes in the pulsar beam configuration from sub-critical to super-critical regimes., Comment: 9 pages,7 figures; Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society journal on July 2, 2018

We report on the detection of a kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) with the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER). Analyzing approximately 165 ks of NICER exposure on the X-ray burster 4U 0614+09, we detect multiple instances of a single-peak upper kHz QPO, with centroid frequencies that range from 400 Hz to 750 Hz. We resolve the kHz QPO as a function of energy, and measure, for the first time, the QPO amplitude below 2 keV. We find the fractional amplitude at 1 keV is on the order of 2% rms, and discuss the implications for the QPO emission process in the context of Comptonization models., Comment: proof correction applied. 7 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in ApJ Letters

We report on a spectral-timing analysis of the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary Aql~X-1 with the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) on the International Space Station. Aql~X-1 was observed with NICER during a dim outburst in 2017 July, collecting approximately $50$ ks of good exposure. The spectral and timing properties of the source correspond to that of an (hard) extreme island state in the atoll classification. We find that the fractional amplitude of the low frequency ($<0.3$ Hz) band-limited noise shows a dramatic turnover as a function of energy: it peaks at 0.5 keV with nearly 5\% rms, drops to $12\%$ rms at 2 keV, and rises to $15\%$ rms at 10 keV. Through the analysis of covariance spectra, we demonstrate that band-limited noise exists in both the soft thermal emission and the power-law emission. Additionally, we measure hard time lags, indicating the thermal emission at $0.5$ keV leads the power-law emission at 10 keV on a timescale of $\sim100$ ms at $0.3$ Hz to $\sim10$ ms at $3$ Hz. Our results demonstrate that the thermal emission in the hard state is intrinsically variable, and driving the modulation of the higher energy power-law. Interpreting the thermal spectrum as disk emission, we find our results are consistent with the disk propagation model proposed for accretion onto black holes., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in ApJL