Rapid spin changes around a magnetar fast radio burst.

Magnetars are neutron stars with extremely high magnetic fields (≳1014 gauss) that exhibit various X-ray phenomena such as sporadic subsecond bursts, long-term persistent flux enhancements and variable rotation-period derivative1,2. In 2020, a fast radio burst (FRB), akin to cosmological millisecond-duration radio bursts, was detected from the Galactic magnetar SGR 1935+2154 (refs. 3-5), confirming the long-suspected association between some FRBs and magnetars. However, the mechanism for FRB generation in magnetars remains unclear. Here we report the X-ray observation of two glitches in SGR 1935+2154 within a time interval of approximately nine hours, bracketing an FRB that occurred on 14 October 20226,7. Each glitch involved a significant increase in the magnetar's spin frequency, being among the largest abrupt changes in neutron-star rotation8-10 observed so far. Between the glitches, the magnetar exhibited a rapid spin-down phase, accompanied by an increase and subsequent decline in its persistent X-ray emission and burst rate. We postulate that a strong, ephemeral, magnetospheric wind11 provides the torque that rapidly slows the star's rotation. The trigger for the first glitch couples the star's crust to its magnetosphere, enhances the various X-ray signals and spawns the wind that alters magnetospheric conditions that might produce the FRB.

Enhanced x-ray emission coinciding with giant radio pulses from the Crab Pulsar.

Giant radio pulses (GRPs) are sporadic bursts emitted by some pulsars that last a few microseconds and are hundreds to thousands of times brighter than regular pulses from these sources. The only GRP-associated emission outside of radio wavelengths is from the Crab Pulsar, where optical emission is enhanced by a few percentage points during GRPs. We observed the Crab Pulsar simultaneously at x-ray and radio wavelengths, finding enhancement of the x-ray emission by 3.8 ± 0.7% (a 5.4σ 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.

Proper motion, spectra, and timing of PSR J1813-1749 using Chandra and NICER.

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 µ R.A. = - ( 0 . ″ 067 ± 0 . ″ 010 ) yr-1 and µ decl. = - ( 0 . ″ 014 ± 0 . ″ 007 ) yr-1 and velocity v ⊥ ≈ 900-1600 km s-1 (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 N H = (13.1 ± 0.9) × 1022 cm-2, photon index Γ = 1.5 ± 0.1, and 0.3-10 keV luminosity L X ≈ 5.4 × 1034 erg s-1(d/ 5 kpc)2 for the PWN and Γ = 1.2 ± 0.1 and L X « 9.3 × 1033 erg s-1(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 ν = 22.35 Hz and spin frequency time derivative v . = ( - 6.428 ± 0.003 ) × 10 - 11 Hz s-1. We also fit ν measurements from 2009-2012 and our 2019 value and find a long-term spin-down rate v . = ( - 6.3445 ± 0.0004 ) × 10 - 11 Hz s-1. We speculate that the difference in spin-down rates is due to glitch activity or emission mode switching.

Return of the Big Glitcher: NICER timing and glitches of PSR J0537-6910.

PSR J0537-6910, also known as the Big Glitcher, is the most prolific glitching pulsar known, and its spin-induced pulsations are only detectable in X-ray. We present results from analysis of 2.7 years of NICER timing observations, from 2017 August to 2020 April. We obtain a rotation phase-connected timing model for the entire timespan, which overlaps with the third observing run of LIGO/Virgo, thus enabling the most sensitive gravitational wave searches of this potentially strong gravitational wave-emitting pulsar. We find that the short-term braking index between glitches decreases towards a value of 7 or lower at longer times since the preceding glitch. By combining NICER and RXTE data, we measure a long-term braking index n = -1.25 ± 0.01. Our analysis reveals 8 new glitches, the first detected since 2011, near the end of RXTE, with a total NICER and RXTE glitch activity of 8.88 × 10-7 yr-1. The new glitches follow the seemingly unique time-to-next-glitch-glitch-size correlation established previously using RXTE data, with a slope of 5 d µHz-1. For one glitch around which NICER observes two days on either side, we search for but do not see clear evidence of spectral nor pulse profile changes that may be associated with the glitch.

NICER and Fermi GBM Observations of the First Galactic Ultraluminous X-ray Pulsar Swift J0243.6+6124.

Swift J0243.6+6124 is a newly discovered Galactic Be/X-ray binary, revealed in late September 2017 in a giant outburst with a peak luminosity of 2 × 1039(d/7 kpc)2 erg s-1 (0.1-10 keV), with no formerly reported activity. At this luminosity, Swift J0243.6+6124 is the first known galactic ultraluminous X-ray pulsar. We describe Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) and Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) timing and spectral analyses for this source. A new orbital ephemeris is obtained for the binary system using spin-frequencies measured with GBM and 15-50 keV fluxes measured with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory Burst Alert Telescope to model the system's intrinsic spin-up. Power spectra measured with NICER show considerable evolution with luminosity, including a quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) near 50 mHz that is omnipresent at low luminosity and has an evolving central frequency. Pulse profiles measured over the combined 0.2-100 keV range show complex evolution that is both luminosity and energy dependent. Near the critical luminosity of L ~ 1038 erg s-1, the pulse profiles transition from single-peaked to double peaked, the pulsed fraction reaches a minimum in all energy bands, and the hardness ratios in both NICER and GBM show a turn-over to softening as the intensity increases. This behavior repeats as the outburst rises and fades, indicating two distinct accretion regimes. These two regimes are suggestive of the accretion structure on the neutron star surface transitioning from a Coulomb collisional stopping mechanism at lower luminosities to a radiation-dominated stopping mechanism at higher luminosities. This is the highest observed (to date) value of the critical luminosity, suggesting a magnetic field of B ~ 1013 G.