Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T01:39:38.015Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Searching for X-ray Pulsations from Neutron Stars Using NICER

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 June 2018

Paul S. Ray
Affiliation:
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375-5352 email: [email protected]
Zaven Arzoumanian
Affiliation:
NASA/GSFC Greenbelt, MD 20771
Keith C. Gendreau
Affiliation:
NASA/GSFC Greenbelt, MD 20771
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) presents an exciting new capability for exploring the modulation properties of X-ray emitting neutron stars, including large area, low background, extremely precise absolute event time stamps, superb low-energy response and flexible scheduling. The Pulsation Searches and Multiwavelength Coordination working group has designed a 2.5 Ms observing program to search for emission and characterize the modulation properties of about 30 known or suspected neutron star sources across a number of source categories. A key early goal will be to search for pulsations from millisecond pulsars that might exhibit thermal pulsations from the surface suitable for pulse profile modeling to constrain the neutron star equation of state. In addition, we will search for pulsations from transitional millisecond pulsars, isolated neutron stars, low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs), accretion-powered millisecond pulsars, central compact objects and other sources. We present our science plan and initial results from the first months of the NICER mission, including the discovery of pulsations from the millisecond pulsar J1231–1411.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2018 

References

Abdo, et al. 2013, ApJS, 208, 17Google Scholar
Arzoumanian, et al. 2014, Proc. SPIE 9144, 914420Google Scholar
Buccheri, et al. 1987, A&A, 175, 353Google Scholar
Gendreau, , et al. 2016, Proc. SPIE 9905, 99051HGoogle Scholar
de Jager, , et al. 1989, A&A, 221, 180Google Scholar
Ransom, et al. 2011, ApJ, 727, L16Google Scholar