Accreting Millisecond X-ray Pulsar Research Articles

NICER Discovery that SRGA J144459.2–604207 Is an Accreting Millisecond X-Ray Pulsar

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 4 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 > 0.1 M ⊙. 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 ≈ 0.9 keV and power-law photon index Γ ≈ 1.9. Time-resolved burst spectroscopy confirmed the thermonuclear nature of the burst, where an additional blackbody component reached a maximum temperature of nearly kT ≈ 3 keV at the peak of the burst. We discuss the nature of the companion as well as the type I X-ray burst.

Timing Analysis Methods and Applications in Accreting Millisecond X-ray Pulsars

Çalışmamızda, sürekli atma gösteren 5 kütle aktarımlı milisaniye X-ışını pulsarının (AMXP, accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar) --SAX J1808.4-3658, IGR J1749.8-2921, XTE J1751-305, XTE J1807-294 ve XTE J1814-338-- zaman analizi sonuçlarını sunmaktayız. Bu kaynaklara ait Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) uydusu üzerinde bulunan Proportional Counter Array (PCA) dedektörü verisini 3.0 – 30.0 keV aralığında sınırladıktan sonra 128~s zaman dilimlerine ayırdık. Her bir zaman dilimine karşılık gelen güç spektrumlarını iki farklı yöntemle --Z$^{2}$ test ve maksimum olabilirlik çıkarımı-- elde ettik. İki yöntemde de, her bir kaynağa ait literatürden alınan dönme frekansları civarında milisaniye mertebesindeki duyarlılıklarla taramalar gerçekleştirerek en olası dönme frekansları tespit ettik. Çalışmamız sonucunda her kaynağa ait dönme frekansının zaman evrimi ve güncel yörünge dolanma dönemi değerleri literatüre kazandırılmıştır. Ayrıca örneklemimizden SAX J1808.4-3658 kaynağına ait yörünge düzeltmeleri yapılmış ve elde edilen dolanma dönemleri teyit edilmiştir. İncelediğimiz kaynaklar kullanılarak milisaniye mertebesinde uygulanabilecek zaman analizi yöntemlerinin avantaj ve dezavantajları tartışılmıştır.

PSR J1953+1844 Probably Being the Descendant of an Ultracompact X-Ray Binary

PSR J1953+1844 (i.e., M71E) is a millisecond pulsar in a 53 minute binary orbit discovered by the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope. The mass function from pulsar timing is 2.3 × 10−7 M ⊙. The possible redback origin of this system has been discussed by Pan et al. We discuss here an alternative evolution track for this binary system, namely that PSR J1953+1844 is a descendant of an ultracompact X-ray binary (UCXB), which has a hydrogen-poor donor accreting onto a neutron star (NS) with an orbital period of ≤1 hr. We noticed that some UCXB systems hold an accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar (AMXP) and a donor with a mass of about 0.01 M ⊙. M71E has a very similar orbit to those of AMXPs, indicating that it might be evolved from a UCXB similar to PSR J1653–0158. The companion star of M71E should be significantly bloated and it most probably has a carbon and oxygen composition, otherwise a low inclination angle of the orbit is required for a helium companion. The discovery of this M71E binary system may shed light on when and how an NS in a UCXB turns into a radio pulsar.

The 2019 outburst of AMXP SAX J1808.4–3658 and radio follow up of MAXI J0911–655 and XTE J1701–462

ABSTRACTWe present radio coverage of the 2019 outburst of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar (AMXP) SAX J1808.4–3658, obtained with MeerKAT. We compare these data to contemporaneous X-ray and optical measurements in order to investigate the coupling between accretion and jet formation in this system, while the optical light curve provides greater detail of the outburst. The reflaring activity following the main outburst peak was associated with a radio re-brightening, indicating a strengthening of the jet in this phase of the outburst. We place quasi-simultaneous radio and X-ray measurements on the global radio:X-ray plane for X-ray binaries, and show they reside in the same region of luminosity space as previous outburst measurements, but significantly refine the correlation for this source. We also present upper limits on the radio emission from the AMXP MAXI J0911–655 and the transitional Z/Atoll-type transient XTE J1701–462. In the latter source, we also confirm that nearby large-scale structures reported in previous radio observations of the source are persistent over a period of ∼15 yr, and so are almost certainly background radio galaxies and not associated with the X-ray transient.

Spectral analysis of the AMXP IGR J17591–2342 during its 2018 outburst

ABSTRACT The Accreting Millisecond X-ray Pulsar IGR J17591–2342 is a Low Mass X-ray Binary (LMXB) system that went in outburst on 2018 August and it was monitored by the NICER observatory and partially by other facilities. We aim to study how the spectral emission of this source evolved during the outburst by exploiting the whole X-ray data repository of simultaneous observations. The continuum emission of the combined broad-band spectra is on average well described by an absorbed Comptonization component scattering blackbody-distributed photons peaking at (0.8 ± 0.5) keV by a moderately optically thick corona (τ = 2.3 ± 0.5) with temperature of (34 ± 9) keV. A blackbody component with temperature and radial size of (0.8 ± 0.2) keV and (3.3 ± 1.5) km, respectively, is required by some of the spectra and suggests that part of the central emission, possibly a fraction of the neutron star surface, is not efficiently scattered by the corona. The continuum at low energies is characterized by significant residuals suggesting the presence of an absorption edge of O viii and of emission lines of Ne ix ions. Moreover, broad Fe i and Fe xxv Kα emission lines are detected at different times of the outburst, suggesting the presence of reflection in the system.

Discovery of a 584.65 Hz Burst Oscillation in the Low-mass X-Ray Binary 4U 1730–22

Type-I X-ray burst oscillations are powered by thermonuclear energy released on the neutron star (NS) surface in low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs), where the burst oscillation frequencies are close to the NS spin rates. In this work, we report the detection of oscillation at 584.65 Hz during the cooling tail of type-I X-ray bursts observed from the accreting NS LMXB 4U 1730–22 on 2022 March 20, by the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer telescope. The oscillation signal showed a strong Leahy power, P m ∼ 54.04, around 584.65 Hz, which has single-trial and multiple-trial confidence levels of 7.05σ and 4.73σ, respectively. The folded pulse profile of the oscillation in the 0.2–10 keV band showed a sinusoidal shape with the fractional rms amplitude of (8.0 ± 1.1)%. We found the oscillation frequency showed insignificant upward drifting, i.e., less than 0.3 Hz, during the cooling tail, similar to the behavior appearing in accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars (AMXP), and indicate the source could be an AMXP spinning at 1.71 ms.

Probing Jet Launching in Neutron Star X-Ray Binaries: The Variable and Polarized Jet of SAX J1808.4–3658

Abstract We report on an optical photometric and polarimetric campaign on the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar (AMXP) SAX J1808.4–3658 during its 2019 outburst. The emergence of a low-frequency excess in the spectral energy distribution in the form of a red excess above the disk spectrum (seen most prominently in the z, i, and R bands) is observed as the outburst evolves. This is indicative of optically thin synchrotron emission due to a jet, as seen previously in this source and in other AMXPs during outburst. At the end of the outburst decay, the source enters a reflaring state. The low-frequency excess is still observed during the reflares. Our optical (BVRI) polarimetric campaign shows variable linear polarization (LP) throughout the outburst. We show that this is intrinsic to the source, with low-level but significant detections (0.2%–2%) in all bands. The LP spectrum is red during both the main outburst and the reflaring state, favoring a jet origin for this variable polarization over other interpretations, such as Thomson scattering with free electrons from the disk or the propelled matter. During the reflaring state, a few episodes with stronger LP levels (1%–2%) are observed. The low-level, variable LP is suggestive of strongly tangled magnetic fields near the base of the jet. These results clearly demonstrate how polarimetry is a powerful tool for probing the magnetic field structure in X-ray binary jets, as for active galactic nuclei jets.

Updated Spin and Orbital Parameters and Energy Dependent Pulse Behaviors of the Accreting Millisecond X-Ray Pulsar IGR J17591–2342

Abstract We present our work in updating the spin and orbital parameters for the newly discovered accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar (AMXP) IGR J17591–2342 through pulsar timing and analyzing its energy dependent pulse behaviors. The data being analyzed were collected by Neutron Star Interior Composition ExploreR, which observed this AMXP from 2018 August to October. Using the pulse arrival time delay technique, more accurate spin and orbital parameters were evaluated. From the measured spin frequency derivative, it is estimated that the magnetic field of the neutron star in IGR J17591–2342 is approximately 4 × 108 G. Precise pulse profiles can be made using the updated spin and orbital parameters. The soft phase lag phenomenon that is usually seen in other AMXPs is also observed from ∼4 to 12 keV with a value of 0.06 cycles (1.14 μs). Additionally, the pulsed fractional amplitude increases from 1 to ∼5 keV and then decreases for higher energy bands. We found that these phenomena, as well as the energy spectrum, can be explained by the two-component model with a relatively strong blackbody component and an additional unpulsed disk blackbody component.

High plasma cut-off frequency blocks the radio emission from accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658

SAX J1808.4-3658 is the first discovered transient accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar (AMXP) with a spin frequency of 401 Hz. It has been proposed that its radio pulses should be detected during the low state of X-ray emission, however there is no any successful evidence for its occurring a radio pulsar state with the sensitive radio telescopes. In this paper, we present a calculation of the plasma cut-off oscillation frequency of the accreting plasma above the magnetosphere of SAX J1808.4-3658, and obtain a limiting value of about ∼ 5.9 GHz, corresponding to the lowest X-ray luminosity, which is higher than the favorite “search window” (e.g. 1.4 GHz) of radio pulsar surveys. Moreover, after comparing the pressure of the dipole electromagnetic radiation with that of the accreting matter, we find that the transformational condition from the accretion-powered to rotational-powered pulsar state implies a critical X-ray luminosity of $4.57\times10^{33} \mbox{ erg}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}$. We propose the observational suggestion for searching the radio pulsar state of SAX J1808.4-3658 is that the radio astronomers should use the telescope with high frequency receivers to search the transition from AMXP to radio MSP during the low X-ray luminosity phase (e.g. quiescence).

On the frequency correlations of low-frequency QPOs with kilohertz QPOs in accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars

ABSTRACT We investigate frequency correlations of low frequency (LF, <80 Hz) and kHz quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) using the complete RXTE data sets on six accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars (AMXPs) and compare them to those of non-pulsating neutron star (NS) low-mass X-ray binaries with known spin. For the AMXPs SAX J1808.4−3658 and XTE J1807−294, we find frequency-correlation power-law indices that, surprisingly, are significantly lower than in the non-pulsars, and consistent with the relativistic precession model (RPM) prediction of 2.0 appropriate to test-particle orbital and Lense–Thirring precession frequencies. As previously reported, power-law normalizations are significantly higher in these AMXPs than in the non-pulsating sources, leading to requirements on the NS specific moment of inertia in this model that cannot be satisfied with realistic equations of state. At least two other AMXPs show frequency correlations inconsistent with those of SAX J1808.4−3658 and XTE J1807−294, and possibly similar to those of the non-pulsating sources; for two AMXPs no conclusions could be drawn. We discuss these results in the context of a model that has had success in black hole (BH) systems involving a torus-like hot inner flow precessing due to (prograde) frame dragging, and a scenario in which additional (retrograde) magnetic and classical precession torques not present in BH systems are also considered. We show that a combination of these interpretations may accommodate our results.

Formation of accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars

Accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars (AMXPs) are an important subclass of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs), in which coherent millisecond X-ray pulsations can be observed during outburst states. They have dual characteristics of LMXBs and millisecond pulsars, providing a direct confirmation for the recycling scenario. However, their formation is not well understood. In this work, we simulate the evolution of LMXBs with the MESA code to explore the formation and evolution of AMXPs. Based on the binary evolutionary model of LMXBs and the model of accretion disk instability, we find that most of the observed AMXPs can be produced from LMXBs with orbital periods at the onset of Roche lobe overflow close to the bifurcation period and their observed properties can be explained by our models. The AMXPs with main sequence (MS) donors ultimately evolve into AMXPs with extremely low-mass He white dwarf donors. Moreover, our results indicate that these AMXPs with MS donors are likely to have donor stars near the terminal-age main sequence.

Indications of non-conservative mass transfer in AMXPs

Context. Since the discovery of the first accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar (AMXP) SAX J1808.4−3658 in 1998, the family of these sources has kept growing. Currently, it has 22 members. All AMXPs are transients with usually very long quiescence periods, implying that the mass accretion rate in these systems is quite low and not constant. Moreover, for at least three sources, a non-conservative evolution was also proposed. Aims. Our purpose is to study the long term averaged mass-accretion rates in all the AMXPs discovered so far, to investigate a non-conservative mass-transfer scenario. Methods. We calculated the expected mass-transfer rate under the hypothesis of a conservative evolution based on their orbital periods and on the (minimum) mass of the secondary star (as derived from the mass function), driven by gravitational radiation and/or magnetic braking. Using this theoretical mass transfer, we determined the expected accretion luminosity of the systems. Thus, we achieved the lower limit to the distance of the sources by comparing the computed theoretical luminosity and the observed flux averaged over a time period of 20 years. Then, the lower limit to the distance of the sources was compared to the value of the distance reported in the literature to evaluate how reasonable the hypothesis of a conservative mass transfer is. Results. Based on a sample of 18 sources, we found strong evidence of a non-conservative mass transfer for five sources, for which the estimated distance lower limits are higher than their known distances. We also report hints of mass outflows in a further six sources. The discrepancy can be fixed under the hypothesis of a non-conservative mass transfer in which a fraction of the mass transferred onto the compact object is swept away from the system, likely due to the (rotating magnetic dipole) radiation pressure of the pulsar.

Mixed H/He bursts in SAX J1748.9–2021 during the spectral change of its 2015 outburst

SAX J1748.9–2021 is a transiently accreting X-ray millisecond pulsar. It is also known as an X-ray burster source discovered by Beppo-SAX. We analyzed the persistent emission and type-I X-ray burst properties during its 2015 outburst. The source changed from hard to soft state within half day. We modeled the broadband spectra of the persistent emission in the (1–250) keV energy band for both spectral states using the quasi-simultaneous INTEGRAL and Swift data. The broadband spectra are well fitted by an absorbed thermal Componization model, COMPPS, in a slab geometry. The best-fits for the two states indicate significantly different plasma temperature of 18 and 5 keV and the Thomson optical depths of three and four, respectively. In total, 56 type-I X-ray bursts were observed during the 2015 outburst, of which 26 detected by INTEGRAL in the hard state, 25 by XMM-Newton in the soft state, and five by Swift in both states. As the object transited from the hard to the soft state, the recurrence time for X-ray bursts decreased from ≈2 to ≈1 h. The relation between the recurrence time, Δtrec, and the local mass accretion rate per unit area onto the compact object, ṁ, is fitted by a power-law model, and yielded as best fit at Δtrec ∼ ⟨ṁ⟩−1.02±0.03 using all X-ray bursts. In both cases, the observed recurrence times are consistent with the mixed hydrogen and helium bursts. We also discuss the effects of type-I X-ray bursts prior to the hard to soft transition.

A faint outburst of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar SAX J1748.9-2021 in NGC 6440

SAX J1748.9-2021 is an accreting X-ray millisecond pulsar observed in outburst five times since its discovery in 1998. In early October 2017, the source started its sixth outburst, which lasted only ~13 days, significantly shorter than the typical 30 days duration of the previous outbursts. It reached a 0.3-70 keV unabsorbed peak luminosity of $\sim3\times10^{36}$ erg/s. This is the weakest outburst ever reported for this source to date. We analyzed almost simultaneous XMM-Newton, NuSTAR and INTEGRAL observations taken during the decaying phase of its 2017 outburst. We found that the spectral properties of SAX J1748.9-2021 are consistent with an absorbed Comptonization plus a blackbody component. The former, characterized by an electron temperature of ~20 keV, a photon index of ~1.6-1.7 keV and seed photon temperature of 0.44 keV, can be associated to a hot corona or the accretion column, while the latter is more likely originating from the neutron star surface (kT$_{bb}\sim0.6$ keV, R$_{bb}\sim2.5$ km). These findings suggest that SAX J1748.9-2021 was observed in a $hard$ spectral state, as it is typically the case for accreting millisecond pulsars in outburst.

NICER Discovers the Ultracompact Orbit of the Accreting Millisecond Pulsar IGR J17062–6143

Abstract We present results of recent Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) observations of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar (AMXP) IGR J17062−6143 that show that it resides in a circular, ultracompact binary with a 38-minute orbital period. NICER observed the source for ≈26 ks over a 5.3-day span in 2017 August, and again for 14 and 11 ks 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 (RXTE) 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 minutes), a projected semimajor axis of 0.00390 lt-s, 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 × 10−8 M ⊙, presently the smallest known for a stellar binary. The minimum donor mass ranges from ≈0.005 to 0.007 M ⊙ for a neutron star mass from 1.2 to 2 M ⊙. Assuming mass transfer is driven by gravitational radiation, we find donor mass and binary inclination bounds of 0.0175–0.0155 M ⊙ and 19° < i < 27.°5, where the lower and upper bounds correspond to 1.4 and 2 M ⊙ 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).

A Radio Frequency Study of the Accreting Millisecond X-ray Pulsar, IGR J16597–3704, in the Globular Cluster NGC 6256

Abstract We present Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array radio frequency observations of the new accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar (AMXP), IGR J16597−3704, located in the globular cluster NGC 6256. With these data, we detect a radio counterpart to IGR J16597−3704, and determine an improved source position. Pairing our radio observations with quasi-simultaneous Swift/XRT X-ray observations, we place IGR J16597−3704 on the radio–X-ray luminosity plane, where we find that IGR J16597−3704 is one of the more radio-quiet neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries known to date. We discuss the mechanisms that may govern radio luminosity (and in turn jet production and evolution) in AMXPs. Furthermore, we use our derived radio position to search for a counterpart in archival Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory data, and estimate an upper limit on the X-ray luminosity of IGR J16597−3704 during quiescence.

Millisecond Pulsars, their Evolution and Applications

Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are short-period pulsars that are distinguished from "normal" pulsars, not only by their short period, but also by their very small spin-down rates and high probability of being in a binary system. These properties are consistent with MSPs having a different evolutionary history to normal pulsars, viz., neutron-star formation in an evolving binary system and spin-up due to accretion from the binary companion. Their very stable periods make MSPs nearly ideal probes of a wide variety of astrophysical phenomena. For example, they have been used to detect planets around pulsars, to test the accuracy of gravitational theories, to set limits on the low-frequency gravitational-wave background in the Universe, and to establish pulsar-based timescales that rival the best atomic-clock timescales in long-term stability. MSPs also provide a window into stellar and binary evolution, often suggesting exotic pathways to the observed systems. The X-ray accretion-powered MSPs, and especially those that transition between an accreting X-ray MSP and a non-accreting radio MSP, give important insight into the physics of accretion on to highly magnetised neutron stars.

Quasi-periodic Pulse Amplitude Modulation in the Accreting Millisecond Pulsar IGR J00291+5934

Abstract We introduce a new method for analyzing the aperiodic variability of coherent pulsations in accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars (AMXPs). Our method involves applying a complex frequency correction to the time-domain light curve, allowing for the aperiodic modulation of the pulse amplitude to be robustly extracted in the frequency domain. We discuss the statistical properties of the resulting modulation spectrum and show how it can be correlated with the non-pulsed emission to determine if the periodic and aperiodic variability are coupled processes. Using this method, we study the 598.88 Hz coherent pulsations of the AMXP IGR J00291+5934 as observed with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer and XMM-Newton. We demonstrate that our method easily confirms the known coupling between the pulsations and a strong 8 mHz quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) in XMM-Newton observations. Applying our method to the RXTE observations, we further show, for the first time, that the much weaker 20 mHz QPO and its harmonic are also coupled with the pulsations. We discuss the implications of this coupling and indicate how it may be used to extract new information on the underlying accretion process.

Where Are the r-modes? Chandra Observations of Millisecond Pulsars

Abstract We present the results of Chandra observations of two non-accreting millisecond pulsars, PSRs J1640+2224 (J1640) and J1709+2313 (J1709), with low inferred magnetic fields and spin-down rates in order to constrain their surface temperatures, obtain limits on the amplitude of unstable r-modes in them, and make comparisons with similar limits obtained for a sample of accreting low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) neutron stars. We detect both pulsars in the X-ray band for the first time. They are faint, with inferred soft X-ray fluxes (0.3–3 keV) of ≈6 × 10−15 and 3 × 10−15 erg cm−2 s−1 for J1640 and J1709, respectively. Spectral analysis assuming hydrogen atmosphere emission gives global effective temperature upper limits (90% confidence) of 3.3–4.3 × 105 K for J1640 and 3.6–4.7 × 105 K for J1709, where the low end of the range corresponds to canonical neutron stars (M = 1.4 M ⊙), and the upper end corresponds to higher-mass stars (M = 2.21 M ⊙). Under the assumption that r-mode heating provides the thermal support, we obtain dimensionless r-mode amplitude upper limits of 3.2–4.8 × 10−8 and 1.8–2.8 × 10−7 for J1640 and J1709, respectively, where again the low end of the range corresponds to lower-mass, canonical neutron stars (M = 1.4 M ⊙). These limits are about an order of magnitude lower than those we derived previously for a sample of LMXBs, except for the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar SAX J1808.4–3658, which has a comparable amplitude limit to J1640 and J1709.

On the morphology of outbursts of accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar Aquila X-1

We present the X-ray light curves of the last two outbursts – 2014 & 2016 – of the well known accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar (AMXP) Aquila X-1 using the monitor of all sky X-ray image (MAXI) observations in the 2–20 keV band. After calibrating the MAXI count rates to the all-sky monitor (ASM) level, we report that the 2016 outburst is the most energetic event of Aql X-1, ever observed from this source. We show that 2016 outburst is a member of the long-high class according to the classification presented by Güngör et al. with ∼ 68 cnt/s maximum flux and ∼ 60 days duration time and the previous outburst, 2014, belongs to the short-low class with ∼ 25 cnt/s maximum flux and ∼ 30 days duration time. In order to understand differences between outbursts, we investigate the possible dependence of the peak intensity to the quiescent duration leading to the outburst and find that the outbursts following longer quiescent episodes tend to reach higher peak energetic.