Pulse profile modelling of the 2024 outburst of the accreting millisecond pulsar SRGA J144459.2-604207

TL;DR

This study models the pulse profile of the 2024 outburst of the accreting millisecond pulsar SRGA J144459.2-604207 using combined NICER and IXPE data, constraining neutron star parameters and emission geometry.

Contribution

It presents a joint analysis of X-ray and polarization data to infer neutron star mass, radius, and hotspot configuration, highlighting the impact of analysis methodology.

Findings

Favor a large neutron star mass and radius in the best-fit model.

Identify two independent hotspots with distinct properties affecting the pulse profile.

Show that analysis results are sensitive to the joint analysis methodology.

Abstract

Pulse profile modelling via relativistic ray-tracing can constrain the system parameters of neutron stars, notably their mass and radius. Among these objects, accreting millisecond pulsars (AMPs) are promising targets, because they are bright in X-rays and their potentially polarized radiation can lead to complementary constraints on the emission geometry. We perform combined analysis of NICER and IXPE observations of the recently discovered the 448-Hz pulsar SRGA J144459.2-604207, with IXPE providing X-ray polarization information. NICER and IXPE jointly favour a large mass and radius for our best-fitting model, for which the neutron star has two independent hotspots. The primary hotspot is centered near the northern rotational pole, the secondary in the southern hemisphere, and the observer inclination is in the range 50-75 degrees. The primary hotspot is large (up to half the surface area) and contributes the majority of the non-pulsed X-rays, while the secondary is hotter and the major contributor to the overall pulse profile shape. However, many parameters are inferred to be near the prior bounds, which could indicate that the model does not adequately account for important physics. Furthermore, we tested several different methodologies for joint analysis of the two data sets: the results are sensitive to the method used, something that merits further study with synthetic data. In the future, we expect simultaneously recorded data will lead to improved parameter constraints, especially when multi-band and polarized data are combined.