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Superconductivity in infinite layer nickelates Nd1-xSrxNiO2 has so far been achieved only in thin films raising questions on the role of substrates and interfaces. Given the challenges associated with their synthesis it is imperative to identify their intrinsic properties. We use Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering (RIXS) to investigate the influence of the SrTiO3 capping layer on the excitations of Nd1-xSrxNiO2 (x = 0 and 0.2). Spin excitations are observed in parent and 20% doped Nd1-xSrxNiO2 regardless of capping, proving that magnetism is intrinsic to infinite-layer nickelates and appears in a significant fraction of their phase diagram. In parent and superconducting Nd1-xSrxNiO2, the spin excitations are slightly hardened in capped samples compared to the non-capped ones. Additionally, a weaker Ni - Nd charge transfer peak at ~ 0.6 eV suggests that the hybridization between Ni 3d and Nd 5d orbitals is reduced in capped samples. From our data, capping induces only minimal differences in Nd1-xSrxNiO2 and we phenomenologically discuss these differences based on the reconstruction of the SrTiO3 - NdNiO2 interface and other mechanisms such as crystalline disorder., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures

The subclass of collinear antiferromagnets where spin Kramers degeneracy is broken -- resulting in ferromagnetic-like properties -- offers exciting new opportunities in magnetism and hence motivates the reasoned expansion of the material base for these so-called altermagnets. Here, we show that Ruddlesden-Popper and perovskite phases are generic hosts for altermagnetic behavior. Using first-principles calculations, we demonstrate altermagnetism in prototypical nickel-based systems such as La$_2$NiO$_4$ and identify additional candidates, including the superconducting La$_3$Ni$_3$O$_7$ and the multiferroic BiFeO$_3$. These materials span insulating, semiconducting, and metallic conduction types, with computed nonrelativistic spin splittings reaching up to 250~meV. Our analysis also reveals the presence of accidental nodes and distinct topologies in the spin-momentum texture at the Brillouin-zone boundary, suggesting a refined classification for altermagnetic materials beyond the $d$-wave or higher even-parity wave classes. In addition, we address formal inconsistencies in the traditional classification of magnetically ordered systems, proposing resolutions grounded in the altermagnetic framework, and point out the potential for altermagnetic behavior in systems beyond collinear antiferromagnets with perfectly compensated magnetization, broadening the scope for future exploration., Comment: v1: 7 pages, 5 figures, 1 table; v2: 8 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, additional references

Nickelate superconductors are outstanding materials with intriguing analogies with the cuprates. These analogies suggest that their superconducting mechanism may be unconventional, although this fundamental question is currently under debate. Here, we scrutinize the role played by electronic correlations in enhancing the electron-phonon coupling in the infinite-layer nickelates and the extent to which this may promote superconductivity. Specifically, we use $ab$ $initio$ many-body perturbation theory to perform state-of-the-art $GW$ and Eliashberg-theory calculations. We find that the electron-phonon coupling is effectively enhanced compared to density-functional-theory calculations. This enhancement may lead to low-$T_c$ superconductivity in the parent compounds already. However, it remains marginal in the sense that it cannot explain the record $T_c$s obtained with doping. This circumstance implies that conventional superconductivity is preempted by another pairing mechanism in the infinite-layer nickelates., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 1 table + Supplementary Information

The magnetic and structural properties of the recently discovered pnictogen/chalcogen-free superconductor LaFeSiH ($T_c\simeq10$~K) have been investigated by $^{57}$Fe synchrotron M{\"o}ssbauer source (SMS) spectroscopy, x-ray and neutron powder diffraction and $^{29}$Si nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). No sign of long range magnetic order or local moments has been detected in any of the measurements and LaFeSiH remains tetragonal down to 2 K. The activated temperature dependence of both the NMR Knight shift and the relaxation rate $1/T_1$ is analogous to that observed in strongly overdoped Fe-based superconductors. These results, together with the temperature-independent NMR linewidth, show that LaFeSiH is an homogeneous metal, far from any magnetic or nematic instability, and with similar Fermi surface properties as strongly overdoped iron pnictides. This raises the prospect of enhancing the $T_c$ of LaFeSiH by reducing its carrier concentration through appropriate chemical substitutions. Additional SMS spectroscopy measurements under hydrostatic pressure up to 18.8~GPa found no measurable hyperfine field.

Pnictogens and chalcogens are both viable anions for promoting Fe-based superconductivity and intense research activity in the related families has established systematic correlation between the Fe-anion height and the superconducting critical temperature $T_c$, with an optimum Fe-anion height of $\sim$ 1.38 \r{A}. Here, we report the discovery of superconductivity in a novel compound LaFeSiO$_{1-\delta}$ that incorporates a crystallogen element, Si, and challenges the above picture: considering the strongly squeezed Fe-Si height of 0.94 \r{A}, the superconducting transition at $T_{c}$ = 10 K is unusually high. In the normal state, the resistivity displays non-Fermi-liquid behavior while NMR experiments evidence weak antiferromagnetic fluctuations. According to first-principles calculations, the Fermi surface of this material is dominated by hole pockets without nesting properties, which explains the strongly suppressed tendency towards magnetic order and suggests that the emergence of superconductivity materializes in a distinct set-up, as compared to the standard $s_\pm$- and $d$-wave electron-pocket-based situations. These properties and its simple-to-implement synthesis make LaFeSiO$_{1-\delta}$ a particularly promising platform to study the interplay between structure, electron correlations and superconductivity., Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures

The discovery of superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelates has attracted much attention due to their association to the high-$T_c$ cuprates. Cuprate superconductivity was first demonstrated in bulk samples and subsequently in thin films. In the nickelates, however, the situation has been reversed: although surging as a bulk phenomenon, nickelate superconductivity has only been reported in thin films so far. At the same time, the specifics of infinite-layer nickelates yield distinct interface and surface effects that determine their bulk vs thin-film behavior. In this paper, we provide an overview on these important aspects., Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures. Front. Phys.

Geometric effects in the infinite-layer nickelates $R$NiO$_2$ associated with the relative size of the $R$-site atom are investigated via first-principles calculations. We consider, in particular, the prospective YNiO$_2$ material to illustrate the impact of these effects. Compared to LaNiO$_2$, we find that the La $\to$ Y substitution is equivalent to a pressure of 19 GPa and that the presence of topotactic hydrogen can be precluded. However, the electronic structure of YNiO$_2$ departs from the cuprate-like picture due to an increase in both self-doping effect and $e_g$ hybridization. Furthermore, we find that geometric effects introduce a quantum critical point in the $R$NiO$_2$ series. This implies a $P4/mmm \leftrightarrow I4/mcm$ structural transformation associated to a $A_3^+$ normal mode, according to which the oxygen squares undergo an in-plane rotation around Ni that alternates along $c$. We find that such a $A_3^+$-mode instability has a generic character in the infinite-layer nickelates and can be tuned via either the effective $R$-site atom size or epitaxial strain., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables

The discovery of superconductivity in the infinite-layer nickelates has opened new perspectives in the context of quantum materials. We analyze, via first-principles calculations, the electronic properties of La$_2$NiO$_3$F -- the first single-layer T'-type nickelate -- and compare these properties with those of related nickelates and isostructural cuprates. We find that La$_2$NiO$_3$F is essentially a single-band system with a Fermi surface dominated by the Ni-3$d_{x^2-y^2}$ states with an exceptional 2D character. In addition, the hopping ratio is similar to that of the highest $T_c$ cuprates and there is a remarkable $e_g$ splitting together with a charge transfer energy of 3.6~eV. According to these descriptors, along with a comparison to Nd$_2$CuO$_4$, we thus indicate single-layer T'-type nickelates of this class as very promising analogs of cuprate-like physics while keeping distinct Ni$^{1+}$ features., Comment: 5 + epsilon pages, 4 figures, 2 tables

After decades of fundamental research, unconventional superconductivity has recently been demonstrated in rare-earth infinite-layer nickelates. The current view depicts these systems as a new category of superconducting materials, as they appear to be correlated metals with distinct multiband features in their phase diagram. Here, we provide an overview of the state of the art in this rapidly evolving topic., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. Review article for the JETP special issue celebrating I. E. Dzyaloshinskii's 90th birthday. v2 updated references & minor typos corrected

We report on simultaneous radio and X-ray observations of the radio-emitting magnetar 1E1547.0-5408 on 2009 January 25 and February 3, with the 64-m Parkes radio telescope and the Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray observatories. The magnetar was observed in a period of intense X-ray bursting activity and enhanced X-ray emission. We report here on the detection of two radio bursts from 1E1547.0-5408, reminiscent of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs). One of the radio bursts was anticipated by ~1s (about half a rotation period of the pulsar) by a bright SGR-like X-ray burst, resulting in a F_radio/F_X ~ 10^-9. Radio pulsations were not detected during the observation showing the FRB-like radio bursts, while they were detected in the previous radio observation. We also found that the two radio bursts are neither aligned with the latter radio pulsations nor with the peak of the X-ray pulse profile (phase shift of ~0.2). Comparing the luminosity of these FRB-like bursts and those reported from SGR1935+2154, we find that the wide range in radio efficiency and/or luminosity of magnetar bursts in the Galaxy may bridge the gap between "ordinary" pulsar radio bursts and the extragalactic FRB phenomenon., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 9 pages, 3 figures

Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are a class of accreting compact objects with X-ray luminosities above 1e39 erg/s. The ULX population counts several hundreds objects but only a minor fraction is well studied. Here we present a detailed analysis of all ULXs hosted in the galaxy NGC 7456. It was observed in X-rays only once in the past (in 2005) by XMM-Newton, but the observation was short and strongly affected by high background. In 2018, we obtained a new, deeper (~90 ks) XMM-Newton observation that allowed us to perform a detailed characterization of the ULXs hosted in the galaxy. ULX-1 and ULX-2, the two brightest objects (Lx~(6-10)e39 erg/s), have spectra that can be described by a two-thermal component model as often found in ULXs. ULX-1 shows also one order of magnitude in flux variability on short-term timescales (hundreds to thousand ks). The other sources (ULX-3 and ULX-4) show flux changes of at least an order of magnitude, and these objects may be candidate transient ULXs although longer X-ray monitoring or further studies are required to ascribe them to the ULX population. In addition, we found a previously undetected source that might be a new candidate ULX (labelled as ULX-5) with a luminosity of ~1e39 erg/s and hard power-law spectral shape, whose nature is still unclear and for which a background Active Galactic Nucleus cannot be excluded. We discuss the properties of all the ULXs in NGC 7456 within the framework of super-Eddington accretion onto stellar mass compact objects. Although no pulsations were detected, we cannot exclude that the sources host neutron stars., Comment: Accepted on ApJ; 10 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables

Infinite-layer nickelate thin films materialize an intriguing new platform for high-temperature unconventional superconductivity, with LaNiO$_2$/SrTiO$_3$ as reference setup. We discuss the relative stability of the elementary interfaces of this system and determine the corresponding electronic band structure. We find substantial changes compared to the bulk, in particular in relation to the 5$d$ orbital contributions to the low-energy physics which can be totally replaced by purely Ni-3$d$ flat bands. The $d^9$ configuration characteristic of cuprates can thus be supplemented by an extra interfacial ingredient destabilizing the normal non-superconducting state in these heterostructures., Comment: 6 pages, 2 tables, 3 figures + Supplemental Material. v2: updated refs., extra figure + improved discussion of interfacial structure. v3: new appendix

We study theoretically the fluoro-nickelate series $A$NiF$_2$ ($A=$ Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs) in the tetragonal $P4/mmm$ infinite-layer structure. We use density functional theory to determine the structural parameters and the electronic band structure of these unprecedented compounds. Thus, we predict these materials as model $d^9$ systems where the Ni$^{1+}$ oxidation is realized and the low-energy physics is completely determined by the Ni-3$d$ bands only. Fluoro-nickelates of this class thus offer an ideal platform for the study of intriguing physics that emerges out of the special $d^9$ electronic configuration, notably high-temperature unconventional superconductivity., Comment: 6 pages, 4 tables, and 6 figures

We compute the nominal magnetic penetration depth of $R$NiO$_2$ ($R =$ La, Nd) from first principles calculations and discuss the results in relation to the superconducting $T_c$. We find a marked discrepancy with the well established phenomenology that correlates these two quantities in cuprates (Uemura plot). We also consider the 2D ultrathin limit and estimate the maximum attainable $T_c$ to be $\sim 180$ K according to the Nelson-Kosterliz universal relation between the superfluid density and the transition temperature., Comment: 3 pages, 1 table, 2 figures

Unconventional superconductivity has recently been discovered in the first iron-based superconducting silicide LaFeSiH. By using the complementary techniques of muon spin rotation, tunneling diode oscillator and density functional theory, we investigate the magnetic penetration depth and thereby the superconducting gap of this novel high-temperature superconductor. We find that the magnetic penetration depth displays a sub-$T^2$ behavior in the low-temperature regime below $T_c/3$, which evidences a nodal structure of the gap (or a gap with very deep minima). Even if the topology of the computed Fermi surface is compatible with the $s_\pm$-wave case with accidental nodes, its nesting and orbital-content features may eventually result in a $d$-wave state, more unusual for high-temperature superconductors of this class., Comment: 6 pages, 2 tables, 3 figures; v2: improved discussion and organization, 4 figs, 1 table

Among hard X-ray Galactic sources detected in the Swift and INTEGRAL surveys, those discovered as accreting white dwarf binaries have suprisingly boosted in number in the recent years. The majority are identified as magnetic Cataclysmic Variables of the Intermediate Polar type, suggesting this subclass as an important constituent of the Galactic population of X-ray sources. We here review and discuss the X-ray emission properties of newly discovered sources in the framework of an identification programme with the XMM-Newton satellite that increased the sample of this subclass by a factor of two., Comment: Accepted for publication in Advances in Space Research. 20 pages, 8 figures, 1 table

The hard X-ray source 2PBC J0658.0-1746 was proposed as an eclipsing magnetic cataclysmic variable of the polar type, based on optical follow-ups. We present the first spectral and timing analysis at X-ray energies with XMM-Newton, complemented with archival X-ray, optical, IR photometry and spectroscopy. The X-ray emission shows bright and faint phases and total eclipses recurring every 2.38 h, consistent with optical properties. This firmly identifies 2PBC J0658.0-1746 as an eclipsing polar, the second hard X-ray selected in the orbital period gap. The X-ray orbital modulation changes from cycle-to-cycle and the X-ray flux is strongly variable over the years, implying a non-stationary mass accretion rate both on short and long timescales. The X-ray eclipses allow to refine the orbital ephemeris with period 0.09913398(4) d, and to constrain the binary inclination $79^{\rm\,o}\lesssim i \lesssim 90^{\rm\,o}$ and the mass ratio 0.18$\rm

Among hard X-ray galactic sources detected by INTEGRAL and Swift surveys, those discovered as accreting white dwarfs have surprisingly boosted in number, representing 20% of the galactic sample. The majority are identified as magnetic cataclysmic variabiles of the intermediate polar type suggesting this subclass as an important constituent of galactic population of X-ray sources. In this conference-proceeding, we review the X-ray emission properties as observed with our ongoing XMM-Newton programme of newly discovered INTEGRAL and/or Swift sources that enlarged almost by a factor of two, identifying cataclysmic variabiles commonalities and outliers., Comment: Proceedings of the 12th INTEGRAL conference and 1st AHEAD Gamma-ray Workshop, Geneva (Switzerland), 11-15 February 2019, Ed. C. Ferrigno, E. Bozzo, P. von Balmoos"

We discovered 2.8 s pulsations in the X-ray emission of the ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) M51 ULX-7 within the UNSEeN project, which was designed to hunt for new pulsating ULXs (PULXs) with XMM-Newton. The pulse shape is sinusoidal and large variations of its amplitude were observed even within single exposures (pulsed fraction from less than 5% to 20%). M51 ULX-7 is a variable source, generally observed at an X-ray luminosity between $10^{39}$ and $10^{40}$ erg s$^{-1}$, located in the outskirts of the spiral galaxy M51a at a distance of 8.6 Mpc. According to our analysis, the X-ray pulsar orbits in a 2-d binary with a projected semi-major axis $a_\mathrm{X} \sin i \simeq$ 28 lt-s. For a neutron star (NS) of 1.4 $M_{\odot}$, this implies a lower limit on the companion mass of 8 $M_{\odot}$, placing the system hosting M51 ULX-7 in the high-mass X-ray binary class. The barycentric pulse period decreased by $\simeq$0.4 ms in the 31 d spanned by our May -- June 2018 observations, corresponding to a spin-up rate $\dot{P} \simeq -1.5\times10^{-10}\text{s s}^{-1}$. In an archival 2005 XMM-Newton exposure, we measured a spin period of $\sim$3.3 s, indicating a secular spin-up of $\dot{P}_{\mathrm{sec}}\simeq -10^{-9}\text{ s s}^{-1}$, a value in the range of other known PULXs. Our findings suggest that the system consists of an OB giant and a moderately magnetic (dipole field component in the range $10^{12}$ G $\lesssim B_{\mathrm{dip}}\lesssim 10^{13}$G) accreting NS with weakly beamed emission ($1/12\lesssim b\lesssim1/4$)., Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

We present optical, UV and X-ray monitoring of the short orbital period black hole X-ray binary candidate Swift J1753.5-0127, focusing on the final stages of its 12$-$year long outburst that started in 2005. From September 2016 onward, the source started to fade and within three months, the optical flux almost reached the quiescent level. Soon after that, using a new proposed rebrightening classification method we recorded a mini-outburst and a reflare in the optical light curves, peaking in February (V$\rm\sim$17.0) and May (V$\rm\sim$17.9) 2017, respectively. Remarkably, the mini-outburst has a peak flux consistent with the extrapolation of the slow decay before the fading phase preceding it. The following reflare was fainter and shorter. We found from optical colors that the temperature of the outer disk was $\sim 11$,000 K when the source started to fade rapidly. According to the disk instability model, this is close to the critical temperature when a cooling wave is expected to form in the disk, shutting down the outburst. The optical color could be a useful tool to predict decay rates in some X-ray transients. We notice that all X-ray binaries that show mini-outbursts following a main outburst are short orbital period systems ($<$ 7 h). In analogy with another class of short period binaries showing similar mini-outbursts, the cataclysmic variables of the RZ LMi type, we suggest mini-outbursts could occur if there is a hot inner disk at the end of the outburst decay., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Disc instability models predict that for X-ray binaries in quiescence, there should be a brightening of the optical flux prior to an X-ray outburst. Tracking the X-ray variations of X-ray binaries in quiescence is generally not possible, so optical monitoring provides the best means to measure the mass accretion rate variability between outbursts, and to identify the beginning stages of new outbursts. With our regular Faulkes Telescope/Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) monitoring we are routinely detecting the optical rise of new X-ray binary outbursts before they are detected by X-ray all-sky monitors. We present examples of detections of an optical rise in X-ray binaries prior to X-ray detection. We also present initial optical monitoring of the new black hole transient MAXI J1820+070 (ASASSN-18ey) with the Faulkes, LCO telescopes and Al Sadeem Observatory in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Finally, we introduce our new real-time data analysis pipeline, the 'X-ray Binary New Early Warning System (XB-NEWS)' which aims to detect and announce new X-ray binary outbursts within a day of first optical detection. This will allow us to trigger X-ray and multi-wavelength campaigns during the very early stages of outbursts, to constrain the outburst triggering mechanism., Comment: Accepted to Astronomische Nachrichten/Astronomical Notes (proceedings of XMM-Newton workshop 'Time-Domain Astronomy: A High Energy View', ESAC, Madrid, Spain, 13-15 June 2018)

Optical and X-ray observations suggested that the 9.38 h binary, SWIFT J0746.3- 1608 could be a Cataclysmic Variable of the magnetic or nova-like type, or a low mass X-ray binary. Its optical, UV, and X-ray light curves are strongly variable over years. We report on a recent XMM-Newton observation (28 April 2018), when the source had recovered from a deep low state that likely begun mid-late 2011. We detect for the first time a signal at about 38 min that we interpret as the rotation of the accreting white dwarf primary. Its amplitude decreases with increasing energy, indicating localised photoelectric absorption from cold material. The X-ray spectrum shows optically thin thermal emission with excess at the iron complex, absorbed by a dense medium partially covering the X-ray source. Based on these features, we propose that SWIFT J0746.3-1608 is a magnetic CV of the Intermediate Polar (IP) type. The long-term light curves at different wavelengths show high and low states, a rare phenomenon in the IP subclass and observed so far in only three other systems. The long orbital period, the peculiar long term variability, and its proposed magnetic nature, makes SWIFT J0746.3-1608 an interesting evolutionary test case., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 6 figures, 1 table

We address the ferromagnetic tendencies detrimental for superconductivity that are related to the substitution of the pnictogen As atom with Ge or Si, together with additional substitutions in the spacer layers in 122 and 1111 Fe-based superconductors. Intermediate compounds in which these substitutions are realized individually are studied within density functional theory. We thus single out the control of spacer ions as an effective way to handle such a ferromagnetism, and we also show that it is suppressed in YFe$_2$Ge$_2$ under pressure ---which then can be expected to enhance its superconductivity., Comment: v1: 6 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables. v2: 7 pages, new figures 2 and 4 and extended discussion. v3: 7 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables. v4: published version

IGR J14257-6117 is an unclassified source in the hard X-ray catalogues. Optical follow-ups suggest it could be a Cataclysmic Variable of the magnetic type. We present the first high S/N X-ray observation performed by \XMM\ at 0.3--10 keV, complemented with 10--80 keV coverage by \Swift/BAT, aimed at revealing the source nature. We detected for the first time a fast periodic variability at 509.5\,s and a longer periodic variability at 4.05\,h, ascribed to the white dwarf (WD) spin and binary orbital periods, respectively. These unambiguously identify IGR J14257-6117 as a magnetic CV of the Intermediate Polar (IP) type. The energy resolved light curves at both periods reveal amplitudes decreasing with increasing energy, with the orbital modulation reaching $\sim100\%$ in the softest band. The energy spectrum shows optically thin thermal emission with an excess at the iron complex, absorbed by two dense media (${\rm N_{H}\sim10^{22-23}\,cm^{-2}}$), partially covering the X-ray source. These are likely localised in the magnetically confined accretion flow above the WD surface and at the disc rim, producing the energy dependent spin and orbital variabilities, respectively. IGR J14257-6117, joins the group of strongest orbitally modulated IPs now counting four systems. Drawing similarities with low-mass X-ray binaries displaying orbital dips, these IPs should be seen at large orbital inclinations allowing azimuthally extended absorbing material fixed in the binary frame to intercept the line of sight. For IGR J14257-6117, we estimate ($50^o\,\lesssim\,i\,\lesssim\,70^o$). Whether also the mass accretion rate plays a role in the large orbital modulations in IPs cannot be established with the present data., Comment: Accepted for publication on MNRAS. 9 pages, 6 table, 5 figures

To confirm the nature of the donor star in the ultra-compact X-ray binary candidate 47 Tuc X9, we obtained optical spectra (3,000$-$10,000 {\AA}) with the Hubble Space Telescope / Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. We find no strong emission or absorption features in the spectrum of X9. In particular, we place $3\sigma$ upper limits on the H$\alpha$ and HeII $\lambda 4686$ emission line equivalent widths $-$EW$_{\mathrm{H\alpha}} \lesssim 14$ {\AA} and $-$EW$_{\mathrm{HeII}} \lesssim 9$ {\AA}, respectively. This is much lower than seen for typical X-ray binaries at a similar X-ray luminosity (which, for $L_{\mathrm{2-10 keV}} \approx 10^{33}-10^{34}$ erg s$^{-1}$ is typically $-$EW$_{\mathrm{H\alpha}} \sim 50$ {\AA}). This supports our previous suggestion (by Bahramian et al.) of an H-poor donor in X9. We perform timing analysis on archival far-ultraviolet, $V$ and $I$-band data to search for periodicities. In the optical bands we recover the seven-day superorbital period initially discovered in X-rays, but we do not recover the orbital period. In the far-ultraviolet we find evidence for a 27.2 min period (shorter than the 28.2 min period seen in X-rays). We find that either a neutron star or black hole could explain the observed properties of X9. We also perform binary evolution calculations, showing that the formation of an initial black hole / He-star binary early in the life of a globular cluster could evolve into a present-day system such as X9 (should the compact object in this system indeed be a black hole) via mass-transfer driven by gravitational wave radiation., Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Based on XMM--Newton X-ray observations IGR J19552+0044 appears to be either a pre-polar or an asynchronous polar. We conducted follow-up optical observations to identify the sources and periods of variability precisely and to classify this X-ray source correctly. Extensive multicolor photometric and medium- to high-resolution spectroscopy observations were performed and period search codes were applied to sort out the complex variability of the object. We found firm evidence of discording spectroscopic (81.29+/-0.01m) and photometric (83.599+/-0.002m) periods that we ascribe to the white dwarf (WD)\ spin period and binary orbital period, respectively. This confirms that IGR J19552+0044 is an asynchronous polar. Wavelength-dependent variability and its continuously changing shape point at a cyclotron emission from a magnetic WD with a relatively low magnetic field below 20 MG. The difference between the WD spin period and the binary orbital period proves that IGR J19552+0044 is a polar with the largest known degree of asynchronism (0.97 or 3%)., Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, A&A accepted

The candidate black hole X-ray binary Swift J1753.5-0127 faded to quiescence in 2016 November, after a prolonged outburst that was discovered in 2005. Nearly three months later the system displayed renewed activity that lasted through 2017 July. Here, we present radio and X-ray monitoring over ~3 months of the renewed activity to study the coupling between the jet and the inner regions of the disk/jet system. Our observations cover low X-ray luminosities that have not historically been well-sampled (Lx~2e33 - 1e36 erg/s; 1-10 keV), including time periods when the system was both brightening and fading. At these low luminosities Swift J1753.5-0127 occupies a parameter space in the radio/X-ray luminosity plane that is comparable to "canonical" systems (e.g., GX 339-4), regardless of whether the system was brightening or fading, even though during its >11-year outburst Swift J1753.5-0127 emitted less radio emission from its jet than expected. We discuss implications for the existence of a single radio/X-ray luminosity correlation for black hole X-ray binaries at the lowest luminosities (Lx < 1e35 erg/s), and we compare to supermassive black holes. Our campaign includes the lowest luminosity quasi-simultaneous radio/X-ray detection to date for a black hole X-ray binary during its rise out of quiescence, thanks to early notification from optical monitoring combined with fast responses from sensitive multiwavelength facilities., Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in ApJ

Supergiant fast X-ray transients (SFXTs) are characterized by a remarkable variability in the X-ray domain, widely ascribed to the accretion from a clumpy stellar wind. In this paper we performed a systematic and homogeneous analysis of sufficiently bright X-ray flares from the SFXTs observed with XMM-Newton to probe spectral variations on timescales as short as a few hundred of seconds. Our ultimate goal is to investigate if SFXT flares and outbursts are triggered by the presence of clumps and eventually reveal whether strongly or mildly dense clumps are required. For all sources, we employ a technique developed by our group, making use of an adaptive rebinned hardness ratio to optimally select the time intervals for the spectral extraction. A total of twelve observations performed in the direction of five SFXTs are reported. We show that both strongly and mildly dense clumps can trigger these events. In the former case, the local absorption column density may increase by a factor of >>3, while in the latter case, the increase is only by a factor of 2-3 (or lower). Overall, there seems to be no obvious correlation between the dynamic ranges in the X-ray fluxes and absorption column densities in SFXTs, with an indication that lower densities are recorded at the highest fluxes. This can be explained by the presence of accretion inhibition mechanism(s). We propose a classification of the flares/outbursts from these sources to drive future observational investigations. We suggest that the difference between the classes of flares/outbursts is related to the fact that the mechanism(s) inhibiting accretion can be overcome more easily in some sources compared to others. We also investigate the possibility that different stellar wind structures, rather than clumps, could provide the means to temporarily overcome the inhibition of accretion in SFXTs., Comment: Accepted for publication on A&A

We present timing and spectral analysis of a sample of seven hard X-ray selected Cataclysmic Variable candidates based on simultaneous X-ray and optical observations collected with XMM-Newton , complemented with Swift/BAT and INTEGRAL/IBIS hard X-ray data and ground-based optical photometry. For six sources, X-ray pulsations are detected for the first time in the range $\rm \sim296-6098\,s$, identifying them as members of the magnetic class. Swift J0927.7-6945, Swift J0958.0-4208, Swift J1701.3-4304, Swift J2113.5+5422, and possibly PBC J0801.2-4625, are Intermediate Polars (IPs), while Swift J0706.8+0325 is a short (1.7 h) orbital period Polar, the 11$^{\rm th}$ hard X-ray selected identified so far. X-ray orbital modulation is also observed in Swift J0927.7-6945 (5.2 h) and Swift J2113.5+5422 (4.1 h). Swift J1701.3-4304 is discovered as the longest orbital period (12.8 h) deep eclipsing IP. The spectra of the magnetic systems reveal optically thin multi-temperature emission between 0.2 and 60 keV. Energy dependent spin pulses and the orbital modulation in Swift J0927.7-6945 and Swift J2113.5+5422 are due to intervening local high density absorbing material ($\rm N_H\sim10^{22-23}\,cm^{-2}$). In Swift J0958.0-4208 and Swift J1701.3-4304, a soft X-ray blackbody (kT$\sim$50 and $\sim$80 eV) is detected, adding them to the growing group of "soft" IPs. White dwarf masses are determined in the range $\rm \sim0.58-1.18\,M_{\odot}$, indicating massive accreting primaries in five of them. Most sources accrete at rates lower than the expected secular value for their orbital period. Formerly proposed as a long-period (9.4 h) novalike CV, Swift J0746.3-1608 shows peculiar spectrum and light curves suggesting either an atypical low-luminosity CV or a low mass X-ray binary., Comment: 23 pages, 7 tables, and 6 Figures. Accepted for publications on MNRAS on June 13th, 2017

In outburst, neutron star X-ray binaries produce less powerful jets than black holes at a given X-ray luminosity. This has made them more difficult to study as they fade towards quiescence. To explore whether neutron stars power jets at low accretion rates ($L_{\rm X} \lesssim 10^{36}$ erg s$^{-1}$), we investigate the radio and X-ray properties of three accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars (IGR J17511-3057, SAX J1808.4-3658 and IGR J00291+5934) during their outbursts in 2015, and of the non-pulsing neutron star Cen X-4 in quiescence (2015) and in outburst (1979). We did not detect the radio counterpart of IGR J17511-3057 in outburst or of Cen X-4 in quiescence, but did detect IGR J00291+5934 and SAX J1808.4-3658, showing that at least some neutron stars launch jets at low accretion rates. While the radio and X-ray emission in IGR J00291+5934 seem to be tightly correlated, the relationship in SAX J1808.4-3658 is more complicated. We find that SAX J1808.4-3658 produces jets during the reflaring tail, and we explore a toy model to ascertain whether the radio emission could be attributed to the onset of a strong propeller. The lack of a universal radio/X-ray correlation, with different behaviours in different neutron star systems (with various radio/X-ray correlations; some being radio faint and others not), points at distinct disk-jet interactions in individual sources, while always being fainter in the radio band than black holes at the same X-ray luminosity.

We report the synthesis and characterization of the novel silicide LaFeSiH displaying superconductivity with onset at 11 K. We find that this pnictogen-free compound is isostructural to LaFeAsO, with a similar low-temperature tetragonal to orthorhombic distortion. Using density functional theory we show that this system is also a multiband metal in which the orthorhombic distortion is likely related to single-stripe antiferromagnetic order. Electrical resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal that these features occur side-by-side with superconductivity, which is suppressed by external pressure., Comment: 5 + epsilon pages, 7 figures, Supplemental Material on demand; v2 includes additional magnetization and resistivity data; v3 includes additional resistivity data from LaFeSiH single crystal

Low mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) show evidence of a global correlation of debated origin between X-ray and optical luminosity. We study for the first time this correlation in two transient LMXBs, the black hole V404 Cyg and the neutron star Cen X-4, over 6 orders of magnitude in X-ray luminosity, from outburst to quiescence. After subtracting the contribution from the companion star, the Cen X-4 data can be described by a single power law correlation of the form $L_{opt}\propto\,L_{X}^{0.44}$, consistent with disk reprocessing. We find a similar correlation slope for V404 Cyg in quiescence (0.46) and a steeper one (0.56) in the outburst hard state of 1989. However, V404 Cyg is about $160-280$ times optically brighter, at a given $3-9$ keV X-ray luminosity, compared to Cen X-4. This ratio is a factor of 10 smaller in quiescence, where the normalization of the V404 Cyg correlation also changes. We show that once the bolometric X-ray emission is considered and the known main differences between V404 Cyg and Cen X-4 are taken into account (a larger compact object mass, accretion disk size, and the presence of a strong jet contribution in the hard state for the black hole system) the two systems lie on the same correlation. In V404 Cyg, the jet dominates spectrally at optical-infrared frequencies during the hard state, but makes a negligible contribution in quiescence, which may account for the change in its correlation slope and normalization. These results provide a benchmark to compare with data from the 2015 outburst of V404 Cyg and, potentially, other transient LMXBs as well., Comment: Accepted on ApJ, 12 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables

We have analyzed XMM-Newton and Chandra observations of the transient magnetar XTE J1810-197, spanning more than 11 years, from the initial phases of the 2003 outburst to the current quiescent level. We investigated the evolution of the pulsar spin period and we found evidence for two distinct regimes: during the outburst decay, the spin derivative (nu_dot) was highly variable in the range -(2-4.5)x10^-13 Hz/s, while during quiescence the spin-down rate was more stable at an average value of -1x10^{-13} Hz/s. Only during ~3000 days (from MJD 54165 to MJD 56908) in the quiescent stage, it was possible to find a phase-connected timing solution, with nu_dot = -4.9x10^{-14} Hz/s, and a positive second frequency derivative, nu_dotdot = 1.8x10^{-22} Hz/s. These results are in agreement with the behavior expected if the outburst of XTE J1810-197 was due to a strong magnetospheric twist., Comment: Final published version with erratum; 7 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables

On 2015 June 15 the burst alert telescope (BAT) on board {\em Swift} detected an X-ray outburst from the black hole transient V404 Cyg. We monitored V404 Cyg for the last 10 years with the 2-m Faulkes Telescope North in three optical bands (V, R, and i$^{'}$). We found that, one week prior to this outburst, the optical flux was 0.1--0.3 mag brighter than the quiescent orbital modulation, implying an optical precursor to the X-ray outburst. There is also a hint of a gradual optical decay (years) followed by a rise lasting two months prior to the outburst. We fortuitously obtained an optical spectrum of V404 Cyg 13 hours before the BAT trigger. This too was brighter ($\sim1\rm\,mag$) than quiescence, and showed spectral lines typical of an accretion disk, with characteristic absorption features of the donor being much weaker. No He II emission was detected, which would have been expected had the X-ray flux been substantially brightening. This, combined with the presence of intense H$\alpha$ emission, about 7 times the quiescent level, suggests that the disk entered the hot, outburst state before the X-ray outburst began. We propose that the outburst is produced by a viscous-thermal instability triggered close to the inner edge of a truncated disk. An X-ray delay of a week is consistent with the time needed to refill the inner region and hence move the inner edge of the disk inwards, allowing matter to reach the central BH, finally turning on the X-ray emission., Comment: Accepted by ApJ Letter, 7 pages, 5 figures

Accreting black holes are responsible for producing the fastest, most powerful outflows of matter in the Universe. The formation process of powerful jets close to black holes is poorly understood, and the conditions leading to jet formation are currently hotly debated. In this paper, we report an unambiguous empirical correlation between the properties of the plasma close to the black hole and the particle acceleration properties within jets launched from the central regions of accreting stellar-mass and supermassive black holes. In these sources the emission of the plasma near the black hole is characterized by a power law at X-ray energies during times when the jets are produced. We find that the photon index of this power law, which gives information on the underlying particle distribution, correlates with the characteristic break frequency in the jet spectrum, which is dependent on magnetohydrodynamical processes in the outflow. The observed range in break frequencies varies by five orders of magnitude, in sources that span nine orders of magnitude in black hole mass, revealing a similarity of jet properties over a large range of black hole masses powering these jets. This correlation demonstrates that the internal properties of the jet rely most critically on the conditions of the plasma close to the black hole, rather than other parameters such as the black hole mass or spin, and will provide a benchmark that should be reproduced by the jet formation models., Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, 4 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ

IGR J04571+4527 and Swift J0525.6+2416 are two hard X-ray sources detected in the Swift/BAT and INTEGRAL/IBIS surveys. They were proposed to be magnetic cataclysmic variables of the Intermediate Polar (IP) type, based on optical spectroscopy. IGR J04571+4527 also showed a 1218 s optical periodicity, suggestive of the rotational period of a white dwarf, further pointing towards an IP classification. We here present detailed X-ray (0.3-10 keV) timing and spectral analysis performed with XMM-Newton, complemented with hard X-ray coverage (15-70 keV) from Swift/BAT. These are the first high signal to noise observations in the soft X-ray domain for both sources, allowing us to identify the white dwarf X-ray spin period of Swift J0525.6+2416 (226.28 s), and IGR J04571+4527 (1222.6 s). A model consisting of multi-temperature optically thin emission with complex absorption adequately fits the broad-band spectrum of both sources. We estimate a white dwarf mass of about 1.1 and 1.0 solar masses for IGR J04571+4527 and Swift J0525.6+2416, respectively. The above characteristics allow us to unambiguously classify both sources as IPs, confirming the high incidence of this subclass among hard X-ray emitting Cataclysmic Variables., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Phase diagrams play a primary role in the understanding of materials properties. For iron-based superconductors (Fe-SC), the correct definition of their phase diagrams is crucial because of the close interplay between their crystallo-chemical and magnetic properties, on one side, and the possible coexistence of magnetism and superconductivity, on the other. The two most difficult issues for understanding the Fe-SC phase diagrams are: 1) the origin of the structural transformation taking place during cooling and its relationship with magnetism; 2) the correct description of the region where a crossover between the magnetic and superconducting electronic ground states takes place. Hence a proper and accurate definition of the structural, magnetic and electronic phase boundaries provides an extremely powerful tool for material scientists. For this reason, an exact definition of the thermodynamic phase fields characterizing the different structural and physical properties involved is needed, although it is not easy to obtain in many cases. Moreover, physical properties can often be strongly dependent on the occurrence of micro-structural and other local-scale features (lattice micro-strain, chemical fluctuations, domain walls, grain boundaries, defects), which, as a rule, are not described in a structural phase diagram. In this review, we critically summarize the results for the most studied 11-, 122- and 1111-type compound systems, providing a correlation between experimental evidence and theory.

This is a White Paper in support of the mission concept of the Large Observatory for X-ray Timing (LOFT), proposed as a medium-sized ESA mission. We discuss the potential of LOFT for the study of accreting white dwarfs. For a summary, we refer to the paper., Comment: White Paper in Support of the Mission Concept of the Large Observatory for X-ray Timing

We constructed the cumulative luminosity distributions of most supergiant fast X-ray transients (SFXTs) and the classical supergiant X-ray binary (SgXB) IGR J18027-2016 by taking advantage of the long term monitoring of these sources carried out with Swift/XRT (0.3-10 keV). Classical SgXBs are characterized by cumulative distributions with a single knee around $\sim$10$^{36}$-10$^{37}$ erg/s, while all SFXTs are found to be significantly sub-luminous and the main knee in their distributions is shifted at lower luminosities ($<$10$^{35}$ erg/s). As the latter are below the sensitivity limit of large field of view instruments operating in the hard X-ray domain ($>$15 keV), we show that a soft X-ray monitoring is required to reconstruct the entire profile of the SFXT cumulative luminosity distributions. The difference between the cumulative luminosity distributions of classical SgXBs and SFXTs is interpreted in terms of different wind accretion modes., Comment: Proceedings of: "10th INTEGRAL Workshop: A Synergistic View of the High Energy Sky"

The quiescent spectrum of neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries typically consists of two components - a thermal component associated with emission from the neutron star surface, and a non-thermal power-law component whose origin is not well understood. Spectral fitting of neutron star atmosphere models to the thermal component is one of the leading methods for measuring the neutron star radius. However, it has been known for years that the X-ray spectra of quiescent neutron stars vary between observations. While most quiescent variability is explained through a variable power-law component, the brightest and best-studied object, Cen X-4, requires a change in the thermal component and such thermal variability could be a problem for measuring neutron star radii. In this paper, we significantly increase the number of sources whose quiescent spectra have been studied for variability. We examine 9 potential quiescent neutron stars with luminosities <1E34 erg/s over the course of multiple Chandra observations of the globular clusters NGC 6440 and Terzan 5 and find no strong evidence for variability in the effective temperature in 7 of the 9 sources. Two sources show a potential change in temperature, though this depends on the exact model fitted. CX1 in NGC 6440 is equally well fit by a variable thermal component or a variable power law. Therefore, the results are inconclusive and we cannot exclude or require thermal variability in that source. CX5 in NGC 6440 shows a potential change in temperature, though this depends on whether a power-law is included in the spectral fit or not. This suggests that thermal variability may not be widespread among quiescent neutron stars with luminosities < 1E34 erg/s, and hence thermal radiation remains a promising means to constraining neutron star radii., Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, 5 tables, resubmitted to MNRAS after addressing referee's comments

The usage of cumulative luminosity distributions, constructed thanks to the long-term observations available through wide field hard X-ray imagers, has been recently exploited to study the averaged high energy emission (>17 keV) from Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXTs) and classical Supergiant High Mass X-ray Binaries (SgXBs). Here, we take advantage of the long term monitorings now available with Swift/XRT to construct for the first time the cumulative luminosity distributions of a number of SFXTs and the classical SgXB IGR J18027-2016 in the soft X-ray domain with a high sensitivity focusing X-ray telescope (0.3-10 keV). By complementing previous results obtained in the hard X-rays, we found that classical SgXBs are characterized by cumulative distributions with a single knee around $\sim$10$^{36}$-10$^{37}$ erg/s, while SFXTs are found to be systematically sub-luminous and their distributions are shifted at significantly lower luminosities (a factor of $\sim$10-100). As the luminosity states in which these sources spend most of their time are typically below the sensitivity limit of large field of view hard X-ray imagers, we conclude that soft X-ray monitorings carried out with high sensitivity telescopes are particularly crucial to reconstruct the complete profile of the SFXT cumulative luminosity distributions. The difference between the cumulative luminosity distributions of classical SgXBs and SFXTs is interpreted in terms of accretion from a structured wind in the former sources and the presence of magnetic/centrifugal gates or a quasi-spherical settling accretion regime in the latter., Comment: Accepted for publication in Advances in Space Research

The Large Observatory For x-ray Timing (LOFT) was studied within ESA M3 Cosmic Vision framework and participated in the final down-selection for a launch slot in 2022-2024. Thanks to the unprecedented combination of effective area and spectral resolution of its main instrument, LOFT will study the behaviour of matter under extreme conditions, such as the strong gravitational field in the innermost regions of accretion flows close to black holes and neutron stars, and the supra-nuclear densities in the interior of neutron stars. The science payload is based on a Large Area Detector (LAD, 10 m 2 effective area, 2-30 keV, 240 eV spectral resolution, 1 deg collimated field of view) and a WideField Monitor (WFM, 2-50 keV, 4 steradian field of view, 1 arcmin source location accuracy, 300 eV spectral resolution). The WFM is equipped with an on-board system for bright events (e.g. GRB) localization. The trigger time and position of these events are broadcast to the ground within 30 s from discovery. In this paper we present the status of the mission at the end of its Phase A study., Comment: Proc. SPIE 9144, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2014: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 91442T

We searched optical/UV/IR counterparts of seven supersoft X-ray sources (SSS) in M31 in the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) "Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury" (PHAT) archival images and photometric catalog. Three of the SSS were transient, the other four are persistent sources. The PHAT offers the opportunity to identify SSS hosting very massive white dwarfs that may explode as type Ia supernovae in single degenerate binaries, with magnitudes and color indexes typical of symbiotic stars, high mass close binaries, or systems with optically luminous accretion disks. We find evidence that the transient SSS were classical or recurrent novae; two likely counterparts we identified are probably symbiotic binaries undergoing mass transfer at a very high rate. There is a candidate accreting white dwarf binary in the error circle of one of the persistent sources, r3-8. In the spatial error circle of the best studied SSS in M31, r2-12, no red giants or AGB stars are sufficiently luminous in the optical and UV bands to be symbiotic systems hosting an accreting and hydrogen burning white dwarf. This SSS has a known modulation of the X-ray flux with a 217.7 s period, and we measured an upper limit on its derivative, 0.82 x 10(-11). This limit can be reconciled with the rotation period of a white dwarf accreting at high rate in a binary with a few-hours orbital period. However, there is no luminous counterpart with color indexes typical of an accretion disk irradiated by a hot central source. Adopting a semi-empirical relationship, the upper limit for the disk optical luminosity implies an upper limit of only 169 minutes for the orbital period of the white dwarf binary., Comment: Accepted in MNRAS

Transverse-field muon-spin rotation ($\mu$SR) experiments were performed on a single crystal sample of the non-centrosymmetric system MnSi. The observed angular dependence of the muon precession frequencies matches perfectly the one of the Mn-dipolar fields acting on the muons stopping at a 4a position of the crystallographic structure. The data provide a precise determination of the magnetic dipolar tensor. In addition, we have calculated the shape of the field distribution expected below the magnetic transition temperature $T_C$ at the 4a muon-site when no external magnetic field is applied. We show that this field distribution is consistent with the one reported by zero-field $\mu$SR studies. Finally, we present ab initio calculations based on the density-functional theory which confirm the position of the muon stopping site inferred from transverse-field $\mu$SR. In view of the presented evidence we conclude that the $\mu$SR response of MnSi can be perfectly and fully understood without invoking a hypothetical magnetic polaron state., Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures