The Neutron star Interior Composition ExploreR (NICER) is expected to launch in early 2017 and will gather X-ray data on neutron stars and other high-energy sources from a berth on the International Space Station. Its prime scientific goal is to measure the masses and radii of non-accreting neutron stars via fits to the energy-dependent waveforms produced by the rotation of hot spots on their surfaces. These measurements will provide valuable input to theoretical models of cold matter beyond nuclear density. Here we propose that PSR J1614$-$2230, despite its low count rate, is a promising source to observe with NICER. The reason is that XMM-Newton observations suggest that the fractional oscillation amplitude from PSR J1614$-$2230 could be high enough that this star cannot be very compact. We show that if we analyze 0.5 Ms of NICER data and 0.1 Ms of nearby off-source data and combine that analysis with the known mass of this star, we would find a robust lower limit to the radius with a statistical uncertainty of only $\sim 0.5-0.7$ km. We also show that even if there is an unmodeled nonthermal component modulated at the pulsation frequency, good statistical fits could rule out significant biases. The low count rate will make reliable upper limits on the radius difficult, but the lower limit could rule out some equations of state that are currently being discussed. This analysis would require a good estimate of the non-source background, so Chandra observations of the vicinity of PSR J1614$-$2230 would be helpful.
A NICER View of PSR J0030+0451: Updated Constraints from Six Years of NICER Observations
University of Amsterdam（阿姆斯特丹大学）；IRAP, CNRS（法国国家科学研究中心天体物理研究所）；Université de Toulouse（图卢兹大学）；CNES（法国国家空间研究中心）；Department of Physics, University of Helsinki（赫尔辛基大学物理系）；Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam（阿姆斯特丹大学安东·范·科克天文研究所）
Discovery of Soft X-ray Pulsations from PSR J1231-1411 using NICER
本文报道了利用NICER技术从附近的毫秒脉冲星PSR J1231 $-$ 1411中发现的软X射线脉动。脉冲发射的特点是由一个广泛的和不对称的主脉冲和一个微弱得多的二次间脉冲，与0.055 c s $^{-1}$的总脉冲计数率在0.35-1.5 keV带。我们分析了费米LAT数据，以更新涵盖10年数据的脉冲时序模型，并使用该模型将一年观测的NICER数据进行相干组合。光谱模型表明，流量主要是由热辐射从一个热点（或点）的中子星表面。X射线脉冲与无线电和$γ$射线之间的相位关系提供了对系统几何形状的洞察。
Measuring accretion disc properties in the transitional millisecond pulsar PSR J1023+0038 using XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, NICER and Chandra
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad（印度理工学院海得拉巴分校）；Tata Institute of Fundamental Research（塔塔基础研究所）；Massachusetts Institute of Technology（麻省理工学院）；Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune（印度科学教育与研究学院浦那分校）
Timing and Spectral Studies of PSR J2022+3842 with NICER and NuSTAR
Yunnan University（云南大学）；Nanjing Normal University（南京师范大学）；China West Normal University（西华师范大学）；Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院高能物理研究所）；University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学）
Evolution of the transitional millisecond pulsar PSR J1023+0038 from Aqueye+ and NICER observations
University of Padova（帕多瓦大学）；INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova（意大利国家天体物理研究所帕多瓦天文台）；Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Padova（帕多瓦大学物理与天文学系）；Università di Firenze（佛罗伦萨大学）；INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino（意大利国家天体物理研究所都灵天文台）
A NICER view of the millisecond pulsar PSR J2124$-$3358: evidence for a helium atmosphere
University of Toulouse, CNES, CNRS, IRAP（图卢兹大学）；Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam（阿姆斯特丹大学安东·潘内科克天文学研究所）；Gravitation and Astroparticle Physics Amsterdam (GRAPPA), University of Amsterdam（阿姆斯特丹大学引力与天体粒子物理学阿姆斯特丹中心）
Return of the Big Glitcher: NICER timing and glitches of PSR J0537-6910
PSR J 0537 -6910也被称为Big Glitcher，是已知最多产的脉冲星，其自旋诱导的脉动只能在X射线中检测到。我们分析了从2017年8月到2020年4月的2.7年NICER定时观测结果。我们获得了一个旋转相位连接的整个时间跨度的定时模型，它与LIGO/室女座的第三次观测运行重叠，从而使最灵敏的引力波搜索这个潜在的强引力波发射脉冲星。我们发现，故障之间的短期制动指数在较长的时间内下降到7或更低的值，因为前面的故障。通过结合NICER和RXTE数据，我们测量了长期制动指数n=-1.25+/-0.01。我们的分析揭示了8个新的毛刺，这是自2011年RXTE接近尾声以来首次检测到的毛刺，NICER和RXTE毛刺活动的总活动量为8.88x10^-7 yr^-1。新的毛刺遵循之前使用RXTE数据建立的看似独特的下一个毛刺时间-毛刺大小相关性，斜率为5 d microHz^-1。对于NICER在两侧观察两天的一个毛刺，我们搜索但没有看到可能与毛刺相关的光谱或脉冲轮廓变化的明确证据。
Neutron stars in $f(\mathtt{R,L_m})$ gravity with realistic equations of state: joint-constrains with GW170817, massive pulsars, and the PSR J0030+0451 mass-radius from ${\it NICER}$ data
Constraints on the dense matter equation of state and neutron star properties from NICER's mass-radius estimate of PSR J0740+6620 and multimessenger observations
University of Maryland（马里兰大学）；Joint Space-Science Institute（联合空间科学研究所）；Institute for Advanced Study（高等研究院）；University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign（伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校）；Illinois Center for Advanced Studies of the Universe（伊利诺伊高级宇宙研究中心）；NASA/GSFC（美国国家航空航天局戈达德太空飞行中心）；Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology, NASA/GSFC（NASA/戈达德太空飞行中心空间科学与技术研究探索中心）；Center for Mathematics, Computation, and Cognition, UFABC（巴西联邦圣安德烈大学数学、计算与认知中心）；X-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory, NA（NA X射线天体物理实验室）
Systematic Effects of Hydrogen and Helium Atmosphere Mismatch on Radius Inference in PSR~J0740+6620-like Synthetic NICER Data
University of Maryland, College Park（马里兰大学帕克分校）；NASA Goddard Space Flight Center（NASA戈达德太空飞行中心）；Joint Space-Science Institute, University of Maryland, College Park（马里兰大学联合空间科学研究所）；University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign（伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校）
An Investigation of Systematic Effects from Background Priors on PSR J0740$+$6620 Radius Estimates using Synthetic NICER and XMM-Newton Data
University of Maryland（马里兰大学）；NASA Goddard Space Flight Center（美国宇航局戈达德太空飞行中心）；Joint Space-Science Institute, University of Maryland（马里兰大学联合空间科学研究所）；Institute for Advanced Study（普林斯顿高等研究院）；University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign（伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校）
Cross-Comparison of Sampling Algorithms for Pulse Profile Modeling of PSR J0740+6620
Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam（阿姆斯特丹大学安东·潘内库克天文学研究所）；Department of Physics, University of Helsinki（赫尔辛基大学物理系）；Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics（马克斯·普朗克地外物理学研究所）
The Radius of the Neutron Star PSR J0614-3329 from NICER Data
University of Maryland（马里兰大学）；Joint Space-Science Institute, University of Maryland（马里兰大学联合空间科学研究所）；Institute for Advanced Study（高等研究院）；University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign（伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校）；Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign（伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校物理系）；Department of Astronomy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign（伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校天文学系）；Astroparticle Physics Laboratory NASA/GSFC（NASA/戈达德太空飞行中心高能粒子物理实验室）；Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology, NASA/GSFC（NASA/戈达德太空飞行中心空间科学与技术研究探索中心）；X-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center（NASA戈达德太空飞行中心X射线天体物理实验室）
Constraining the Neutron Star Mass--Radius Relation and Dense Matter Equation of State with NICER. III. Model Description and Verification of Parameter Estimation Codes
New and updated timing models for seven young energetic X-ray pulsars, including the Big Glitcher PSR J0537-6910
Haverford College（哈弗福德学院）；Space Research Organisation Netherlands（荷兰空间研究组织）；Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH)（智利圣地亚哥大学）；Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Astrophysics and Space Sciences (CIRAS), Universidad de Santiago de Chile（智利圣地亚哥大学天体物理与空间科学跨学科研究中心）；IRAP, CNRS（法国国家科学研究中心天体物理学研究所）；Université de Toulouse, CNES, UPS-OMP（图卢兹大学、法国国家空间研究中心、 ups-omp）；X-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center（NASA戈达德太空飞行中心X射线天体物理实验室）；Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory（洛斯阿拉莫斯国家实验室理论部）；Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University（哥伦比亚大学天体物理实验室）
