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We developed an FPGA-based high-speed readout system for a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor to observe soft X-ray transients in future satellite missions, such as HiZ-GUNDAM. Our previous research revealed that the CMOS image sensor has low-energy X-ray detection capability (0.4-4 keV) and strong radiation tolerance, which satisfies the requirements of the HiZ-GUNDAM mission. However, CMOS sensors typically have small pixel sizes (e.g., $\sim$10 ${\rm \mu m}$), resulting in large volumes of image data. GSENSE400BSI has 2048$\times$2048 pixels, producing 6 Mbyte per frame. These large volumes of observed raw image data cannot be stored in a satellite bus system with a limited storage size. Therefore, only X-ray photon events must be extracted from the raw image data. Furthermore, the readout time of CMOS image sensors is approximately ten times faster than that of typical X-ray CCDs, requiring faster event extraction on a timescale of $\sim$0.1 s. To address these issues, we have developed an FPGA-based image signal processing system capable of high-speed X-ray event extraction onboard without storing raw image data. The developed compact system enabled mounting on a CubeSat mission, facilitating early in-orbit operation demonstration. Here, we present the design and results of the performance evaluation tests of the proposed FPGA-based readout system. Utilizing X-ray irradiation experiments, the results of the X-ray event extraction with the onboard and offline processing methods were consistent, validating the functionality of the proposed system.

We present MAXI and NuSTAR observations of the Be X-ray binary, MAXI J0655-013, in outburst. NuSTAR observed the source once early in the outburst, when spectral analysis yields a bolometric (0.1--100 keV), unabsorbed source luminosity of $L_{\mathrm{bol}}=5.6\times10^{36}\mathrm{erg\,s^{-1}}$, and a second time 54 days later, by which time the luminosity dropped to $L_{\mathrm{bol}}=4\times10^{34}\,\mathrm{erg\,s^{-1}}$ after first undergoing a dramatic increase. Timing analysis of the NuSTAR data reveals a neutron star spin period of $1129.09\pm0.04$ s during the first observation, which decreased to $1085\pm1$ s by the time of the second observation, indicating spin-up due to accretion throughout the outburst. Furthermore, during the first NuSTAR observation, we observed quasiperiodic oscillations with centroid frequency $\nu_0=89\pm1$ mHz, which exhibited a second harmonic feature. By combining the MAXI and NuSTAR data with pulse period measurements reported by Fermi/GBM, we are able to show that apparent flaring behavior in the MAXI light-curve is an artifact introduced by uneven sampling of the pulse profile, which has a large pulsed fraction. Finally, we estimate the magnetic field strength at the neutron star surface via three independent methods, invoking a tentative cyclotron resonance scattering feature at $44$ keV, QPO production at the inner edge of the accretion disk, and spin-up via interaction of the neutron star magnetic field with accreting material. Each of these result in a significantly different value. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each method and infer that MAXI J0655-013 is likely to have a high surface magnetic field strength, $B_{s}>10^{13}$ G., Comment: 19 pages, 10 figure, 4 tables; accepted for publication in ApJ

We report the discovery of the unusually bright long-duration gamma-ray burst (GRB), GRB 221009A, as observed by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory (Swift), Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI), and Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer Mission (NICER). This energetic GRB was located relatively nearby (z = 0.151), allowing for sustained observations of the afterglow. The large X-ray luminosity and low Galactic latitude (b = 4.3 degrees) make GRB 221009A a powerful probe of dust in the Milky Way. Using echo tomography we map the line-of-sight dust distribution and find evidence for significant column densities at large distances (~> 10kpc). We present analysis of the light curves and spectra at X-ray and UV/optical wavelengths, and find that the X-ray afterglow of GRB 221009A is more than an order of magnitude brighter at T0 + 4.5 ks than any previous GRB observed by Swift. In its rest frame GRB 221009A is at the high end of the afterglow luminosity distribution, but not uniquely so. In a simulation of randomly generated bursts, only 1 in 10^4 long GRBs were as energetic as GRB 221009A; such a large E_gamma,iso implies a narrow jet structure, but the afterglow light curve is inconsistent with simple top-hat jet models. Using the sample of Swift GRBs with redshifts, we estimate that GRBs as energetic and nearby as GRB 221009A occur at a rate of ~<1 per 1000 yr - making this a truly remarkable opportunity unlikely to be repeated in our lifetime., Comment: 30 pages, 13 figures, submitted to ApJL

SMC X-1 is a high-mass X-ray binary showing superorbital modulation with an unstable period. Previous monitoring shows three excursion events in 1996--1998, 2005--2007, and 2014--2016. The superorbital period drifts from >60 days to <40 days and then evolves back during an excursion. Here we report a new excursion event of SMC X-1 in 2020--2021, indicating that the superorbital modulation has an unpredictable, chaotic nature. We trace the spin-period evolution and find that the spin-up rate accelerated one year before the onset of this new excursion, which suggests a possible inside-out process connecting the spin-up acceleration and the superorbital excursion. This results in a deviation of the spin period residual, similar to the behaviour of the first excursion in 1996--1998. In further analysis of the pulse profile evolution, we find that the pulsed fraction shows a long-term evolution and may be connected to the superorbital excursion. These discoveries deepen the mystery of SMC X-1 because they cannot be solely interpreted by the warped disc model. Upcoming pointed observations and theoretical studies may improve our understanding of the detailed accretion mechanisms taking place., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We report on the discovery of a new supergiant fast X-ray transient (SFXT), MAXI J0709$-$159, and its identification with LY CMa (also known as HD 54786). On 2022 January 25, a new flaring X-ray object named MAXI J0709$-$159, was detected by Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI). Two flaring activities were observed in the two scans of $\sim 3$ hours apart, where the 2-10 keV flux reached $5\times 10^{-9}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$. During the period, the source exhibited a large spectral change suggesting that the absorption column density $N_\mathrm{H}$ increased from $10^{22}$ cm$^{-2}$ to $10^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$. NuSTAR follow-up observation on January 29 identified a new X-ray source with a flux of $6\times 10^{-13}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ at the position consistent with LY CMa, which has been identified as B supergiant as well as Be star, located at the 3 kpc distance. The observed X-ray activity characterized by the short ($\lesssim$ several hours) duration, the rapid ($\lesssim$ a few seconds) variabilities accompanied with spectral changes, and the large luminosity swing ($10^{32}$-$10^{37}$ erg s$^{-1}$) agree with those of SFXT. On the other hand, optical spectroscopic observations of LY CMa revealed a broad $H\alpha$ emission line, which may indicate the existence of a Be circumstellar disk. These obtained results suggest that the optical companion, LY CMa, certainly has a complex circumstellar medium including dense clumps., Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in PASJ (v2. author names in metadata are modified.)

We investigated the decades' long-term X-ray variations in bright low-mass X-ray binaries containing a neutron star (NS-LMXB). The light curves of MAXI/GSC and RXTE/ASM covers $\sim$ 26 yr, and high-quality X-ray light curves are obtained from 33 NS-LMXBs. Among them, together with Ginga/ASM, two sources (GX 3$+$1 and GX 9$+$1) showed an apparent sinusoidal variation with the period of $\sim 5$ yr and $\sim 10$ yr in the 34 yr light curve. Their X-ray luminosities were $(1-4)\times10^{37}$ erg s$^{-1}$ in the middle of the luminosity distribution of the NS-LMXB. Other seven sources (Ser X-1, 4U 1735--444, GX 9$+$9, 4U 1746$-$37, 4U 1708$-$40, 4U 1822$-$000, and 1A 1246$-$588) have also similar sinusoidal variation, although the profiles (amplitude, period, and phase) are variable. Compering the 21 sources with known orbital periods, a possible cause of the long-term sinusoidal variation might be the mass transfer cycles induced by the irradiation to the donor star., Comment: 18 pages, accepted to PASJ

Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) is a Japanese X-ray all-sky monitor onboard the International Space Station (ISS)., Comment: 24 page, in Handbook of X-ray and Gamma-ray Astrophysics

We present the results of MAXI monitoring and two NuSTAR observations of the recently discovered faint X-ray transient MAXI J1848-015. Analysis of the MAXI light-curve shows that the source underwent a rapid flux increase beginning on 2020 December 20, followed by a rapid decrease in flux after only $\sim5$ days. NuSTAR observations reveal that the source transitioned from a bright soft state with unabsorbed, bolometric ($0.1$-$100$ keV) flux $F=6.9 \pm 0.1 \times 10^{-10}\,\mathrm{erg\,cm^{-2}\,s^{-1}}$, to a low hard state with flux $F=2.85 \pm 0.04 \times 10^{-10}\,\mathrm{erg\,cm^{-2}\,s^{-1}}$. Given a distance of $3.3$ kpc, inferred via association of the source with the GLIMPSE-C01 cluster, these fluxes correspond to an Eddington fraction of order $10^{-3}$ for an accreting neutron star of mass $M=1.4M_\odot$, or even lower for a more massive accretor. However, the source spectra exhibit strong relativistic reflection features, indicating the presence of an accretion disk which extends close to the accretor, for which we measure a high spin, $a=0.967\pm0.013$. In addition to a change in flux and spectral shape, we find evidence for other changes between the soft and hard states, including moderate disk truncation with the inner disk radius increasing from $R_\mathrm{in}\approx3\,R_\mathrm{g}$ to $R_\mathrm{in}\approx8\,R_\mathrm{g}$, narrow Fe emission whose centroid decreases from $6.8\pm0.1$ keV to $6.3 \pm 0.1$ keV, and an increase in low-frequency ($10^{-3}$-$10^{-1}$ Hz) variability. Due to the high spin we conclude that the source is likely to be a black hole rather than a neutron star, and we discuss physical interpretations of the low apparent luminosity as well as the narrow Fe emission., Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ

We report the results from the broad-band X-ray monitoring of the new Galactic black hole candidate MAXI J1803$-$298 with the MAXI/GSC and Swift/BAT during its outburst. After the discovery on 2021 May 1, the soft X-ray flux below 10 keV rapidly increased for $\sim 10$ days and then have been gradually decreasing over 5 months. At the brightest phase, the source exhibited the state transition from the low/hard state to the high/soft state via the intermediate state. The broad-band X-ray spectrum during the outburst was well described with a disk blackbody plus its thermal or non-thermal Comptonization. Before the transition the source spectrum was described by a thermal Comptonization component with a photon index of $\sim 1.7$ and an electron temperature of $\sim 30$ keV, whereas a strong disk blackbody component was observed after the transition. The spectral properties in these periods are consistent with the low/hard state and the high/soft state, respectively. A sudden flux drop with a few days duration, unassociated with a significant change in the hardness ratio, was found in the intermediate state. A possible cause of this variation is that the mass accretion rate rapidly increased at the disk transition, which induced a strong Compton-thick outflow and scattered out the X-ray flux. Assuming a non-spinning black hole, we estimated a black hole mass of MAXI J1803$-$298 as $5.8 \pm 0.4~(\cos i/\cos 70^\circ)^{-1/2} (D/8~\mathrm{kpc})~M_\odot$ (where $i$ and $D$ are the inclination angle and the distance) from the inner disk radius obtained in the high/soft state., Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ

We discover an unidentified strong emission feature in the X-ray spectrum of EXO 1745$-$248 obtained by RXTE at 40 hr after the peak of a superburst. The structure was centered at 6.6 keV and significantly broadened with a large equivalent width of 4.3 keV, corresponding to a line photon flux of 4.7 $\times$ 10$^{-3}$ ph cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$. The 3-20 keV spectrum was reproduced successfully by a power law continuum with narrow and broad (2.7 keV in FWHM) Gaussian emission components. Alternatively, the feature can be described by four narrow Gaussians, centered at 5.5 keV, 6.5 keV, 7.5 keV and 8.6 keV. Considering the strength and shape of the feature, it is unlikely to have originated from reflection of the continuum X-rays by some optically thick materials, such as an accretion disk. Moreover, the intensity of the emission structure decreased significantly with an exponential time scale of 1 hr. The feature was not detected in an INTEGRAL observation performed 10 h before the RXTE observation with a line flux upper limit of 1.5 $\times$ 10$^{-3}$ ph cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$. The observed emission structure is consistent with gravitationally redshifted charge exchange emission from Ti, Cr, Fe, and Co. We suggest that the emission results from a charge exchange interaction between a highly metal-enriched fall back ionized burst wind and an accretion disk, at a distance of $\sim$60 km from the neutron star. If this interpretation is correct, the results provide new information on the understanding of nuclear burning processes during thermonuclear X-ray bursts., Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in PASJ

SS Cyg has long been recognized as the prototype of a group of dwarf novae that show only outbursts. However, this object has entered a quite anomalous event in 2021, which at first appeared to be standstill, i.e., an almost constant luminosity state, observed in Z Cam-type dwarf novae. This unexpected event gives us a great opportunity to reconsider the nature of standstill in cataclysmic variables. We have observed this anomalous event and its forerunner, a gradual and simultaneous increase in the optical and X-ray flux during quiescence, through many optical telescopes and the X-ray telescopes NICER and NuSTAR. We have not found any amplification of the orbital hump during quiescence before the anomalous event, which suggests that the mass transfer rate did not significantly fluctuate on average. The estimated X-ray flux was not enough to explain the increment of the optical flux during quiescence via X-ray irradiation of the disk and the secondary star. It would be natural to consider that viscosity in the quiescent disk was enhanced before the anomalous event, which increased mass accretion rates in the disk and raised not only the optical flux but also the X-ray flux. We suggest that enhanced viscosity also triggered the standstill-like phenomenon in SS Cyg, which is considered to be a series of small outbursts. The inner part of the disk would always stay in the outburst state and only its outer part would be unstable against the thermal-viscous instability during this phenomenon, which is consistent with the observed optical color variations. This scenario is in line with our X-ray spectral analyses which imply that the X-ray emitting inner accretion flow became hotter than usual and vertically expanded and that it became denser and was cooled down after the onset of the standstill-like state., Comment: Accepted for publication in PASJ. 18 pages, 10 figures, and 2 tables

The detections of gravitational waves (GW) by LIGO/Virgo collaborations provide various possibilities to physics and astronomy. We are quite sure that GW observations will develop a lot both in precision and in number owing to the continuous works for the improvement of detectors, including the expectation to the newly joined detector, KAGRA, and the planned detector, LIGO-India. In this occasion, we review the fundamental outcomes and prospects of gravitational wave physics and astronomy. We survey the development focusing on representative sources of gravitational waves: binary black holes, binary neutron stars, and supernovae. We also summarize the role of gravitational wave observations as a probe of new physics., Comment: 89pages, Prog. Theor. Exp. Phys. accepted

We report that the RS CVn-type star GT Mus (HR 4492, HD 101379 + HD 101380) was the most active star in the X-ray sky in the last decade in terms of the scale of recurrent energetic flares. We detected 11 flares from GT Mus in 8 yr of observations with Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) from 2009 August to 2017 August. The detected flare peak luminosities were 1-4 $\times$ 10$^{33}$ erg s$^{-1}$ in the 2.0-20.0 keV band for its distance of 109.6 pc. Our timing analysis showed long durations ($\tau_{\rm r} + \tau_{\rm d}$) of 2-6 days with long decay times ($\tau_{\rm d}$) of 1-4 days. The released energies during the decay phases of the flares in the 0.1-100 keV band ranged 1-11 $\times$ 10$^{38}$ erg, which are at the upper end of the observed stellar flare. The released energies during whole duration time ranged 2-13 $\times$ 10$^{38}$ erg in the same band. We carried out X-ray follow-up observations for one of the 11 flares with Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) on 2017 July 18 and found that the flare cooled quasi-statically. On the basis of a quasi-static cooling model, the flare loop length is derived to be 4 $\times$ 10$^{12}$ cm (or 60 R$_{\odot}$). The electron density is derived to be 1 $\times$ 10$^{10}$ cm$^{-3}$, which is consistent with the typical value of solar and stellar flares (10$^{10-13}$ cm$^{-3}$). The ratio of the cooling timescales between radiative cooling ($\tau_{\rm rad}$) and conductive cooling ($\tau_{\rm cond}$) is estimated to be $\tau_{\rm rad}$ $\sim$ 0.1$\tau_{\rm cond}$ from the temperature; thus radiative cooling was dominant in this flare., Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, 4 tables, Published for publication in The Astrophysical Journal (23-Mar-2021)

We report on the X-ray properties of the new transient Swift J0840.7$-$3516, discovered with Swift/BAT in 2020 February, using extensive data of Swift, MAXI, NICER, and NuSTAR. The source flux increased for $\sim 10^3$ s after the discovery, decayed rapidly over $\sim$ 5 orders of magnitude in 5 days, and then remained almost constant over 9 months. Large-amplitude short-term variations on time scales of 1--$10^4$ s were observed throughout the decay. In the initial flux rise, the source showed a hard power-law shaped spectrum with a photon index of $\sim 1.0$ extending up to $\sim 30$ keV, above which an exponential cutoff was present. The photon index increased in the following rapid decay and became $\sim 2$ at the end of the decay. A spectral absorption feature at 3--4 keV was detected in the decay. It is not straightforward to explain all the observed properties by any known class of X-ray sources. We discuss the possible nature of the source, including a Galactic low mass X-ray binary with multiple extreme properties and a tidal disruption event by a supermassive black hole or a Galactic neutron star., Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables, Accepted for publication in ApJ

Here, we present MAXI, SWIFT, NICER, NuSTAR and Chandra observations of the X-ray transient AT2019wey (SRGA J043520.9+552226, SRGE J043523.3+552234). From spectral and timing analyses we classify it as a Galactic low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) with a black hole (BH) or neutron star (NS) accretor. AT2019wey stayed in the low/hard state (LHS) from 2019 December to 2020 August 21, and the hard-intermediate state (HIMS) from 2020 August 21 to 2020 November. For the first six months of the LHS, AT2019wey had a flux of $\sim 1$ mCrab, and displayed a power-law X-ray spectrum with photon index $\Gamma = 1.8$. From 2020 June to August, it brightened to $\sim 20$ mCrab. Spectral features characteristic of relativistic reflection became prominent. On 2020 August 21, the source left the "hard line" on the rms--intensity diagram, and transitioned from LHS to HIMS. The thermal disk component became comparable to the power-law component. A low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) was observed. The QPO central frequency increased as the spectrum softened. No evidence of pulsation was detected. We are not able to decisively determine the nature of the accretor (BH or NS). However, the BH option is favored by the position of this source on the $\Gamma$--$L_{\rm X}$, $L_{\rm radio}$--$L_{\rm X}$, and $L_{\rm opt}$--$L_{\rm X}$ diagrams. We find the BH candidate XTE J1752-223 to be an analog of AT2019wey. Both systems display outbursts with long plateau phases in the hard states. We conclude by noting the potential of SRG in finding new members of this emerging class of low luminosity and long-duration LMXB outbursts., Comment: Accepted by ApJ

We propose a concept of multiplexing lobster-eye (MuLE) optics to achieve significant reductions in the number of focal plane imagers in lobster-eye (LE) wide-field X-ray monitors. In the MuLE configuration, an LE mirror is divided into several segments and the X-rays reflected on each of these segments are focused on a single image sensor in a multiplexed configuration. If each LE segment assumes a different rotation angle, the azimuthal rotation angle of a cross-like image reconstructed from a point source by the LE optics identifies the specific segment that focuses the X-rays on the imager. With a focal length of 30 cm and LE segments with areas of 10 x 10 cm^2, ~1 sr of the sky can be covered with 36 LE segments and only four imagers (with total areas of 10 x 10 cm^2). A ray tracing simulation was performed to evaluate the nine-segment MuLE configuration. The simulation showed that the flux (0.5 to 2 keV) associated with the 5-sigma detection limit was ~2 x 10^-10 erg cm^-2 s^-1 (10 mCrab) for a transient with a duration of 100 s. The simulation also showed that the direction of the transient for flux in the range of 14 to 17 mCrab at 0.6 keV was determined correctly with 99.7% confidence limit. We conclude that the MuLE configuration can become an effective on-board device for small satellites for future X-ray wide-field transient monitoring., Comment: 20 pages, 14 figures

This paper reports on the X-ray emission evolution of the ultra-luminous Galactic X-ray pulsar, Swift J0243.6+6124, during the 2017-2018 giant outburst observed by the MAXI GSC. The 2-30 keV light curve and the energy spectra confirm that the luminosity $L_\mathrm{X}$ reached $2.5\times 10^{39}$ erg s$^{-1}$, 10 times higher than the Eddington limit. When the source was luminous with $L_\mathrm{X}\gtrsim 0.9\times 10^{38}$ erg s$^{-1}$, it exhibited a negative correlation on a hardness-intensity diagram. However, two hardness ratios, a soft color ($=$ 4-10 keV / 2-4 keV) and a hard color ($=$ 10-20 keV / 4-10 keV), showed somewhat different behavior across a characteristic luminosity of $L_\mathrm{c}\simeq 5\times 10^{38}$ erg s$^{-1}$. The soft color changed more than the hard color when $L_\mathrm{X} < L_\mathrm{c}$, whereas the opposite was observed above $L_\mathrm{c}$. The spectral change above $L_\mathrm{c}$ was represented by a broad enhanced feature at $\sim 6$ keV. The pulse profiles made a transition from a single-peak to a double-peak one as the source brightened across $L_\mathrm{c}$. These spectral and pulse-shape properties can be interpreted by a scenario that the accretion columns on the neutron star surface, producing the Comptonized X-ray emission, gradually became taller as $L_\mathrm{X}$ increased. The broad 6 keV enhancement could be a result of cyclotron-resonance absorption at $\sim 10$ keV, corresponding to a surface magnetic field $B_\mathrm{s}\simeq 1.1\times 10^{12}$ G. The spin-frequency derivatives calculated with the Fermi GBM data showed a smooth correlation with $L_\mathrm{X}$ up to the outburst peak, and its linear coefficient is comparable to those of X-ray binary pulsars whose $B_\mathrm{s}$ are $(1-8)\times 10^{12}$ G. These results suggest that $B_\mathrm{s}$ of Swift J0243.6$+$6124 is a few times $10^{12}$ G., Comment: 19 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

We report the first half-year monitoring of the new Galactic black hole candidate MAXI J1348-630, discovered on 2019 January 26 with the Gas Slit Camera (GSC) on-board MAXI. During the monitoring period, the source exhibited two outburst peaks, where the first peak flux (at T=14 day from the discovery of T =0) was ~4 Crab (2-20 keV) and the second one (at T =132 day) was ~0.4 Crab (2-20 keV). The source exhibited distinct spectral transitions between the high/soft and low/hard states and an apparent "q"-shape curve on the hardness-intensity diagram, both of which are well-known characteristics of black hole binaries. Compared to other bright black hole transients, MAXI J1348-630 is characterized by its low disk-temperature (~0.75 keV at the maximum) and high peak flux in the high/soft state. The low peak-temperature leads to a large innermost radius that is identified as the Innermost Stable Circular Orbit (ISCO), determined by the black hole mass and spin. Assuming the empirical relation between the soft-to-hard transition luminosity (Ltrans) and the Eddington luminosity (LEdd), Ltrans/LEdd ~ 0.02, and a face-on disk around a non-spinning black hole, the source distance and the black hole mass are estimated to be D ~ 4 kpc and ~7 (D/4 kpc) Mo, respectively. The black hole is more massive if the disk is inclined and the black hole is spinning. These results suggest that MAXI J1348-630 may host a relatively massive black hole among the known black hole binaries in our Galaxy., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted by ApJL

The X-ray pulsar SMC X-1 shows a superorbital modulation with an unstable cycle length in the X-ray band. We present its timing behaviors, including the spin, orbital, and superorbital modulations, beyond the end of the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer mission. The time-frequency maps derived by the wavelet Z-transform and the Hilbert-Huang transform suggest that a new superorbital period excursion event occurred in ~MJD 57100 (2015 March). This indicates the excursion is recurrent and probably (quasi)periodic. The hardness ratio obtained with the Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) suggests increased absorption during the transition from the high to the low state in the superorbital cycle. Compared to the regular epochs, the superorbital profile during the excursion epochs has a shallower and narrower valley, likely caused by a flatter warp. By tracking the spin period evolution with the MAXI Gas Slit Camera in 2-20 keV, we derive an averaged spin-up rate of $\dot{\nu}=2.515(3)\times10^{-11}$ s$^{-2}$ during the period between MJD 55141 (2009 November) and 58526 (2019 February). We obtain no positive correlation between the spin frequency residual and the superorbital frequency, but a torque change accompanying the superorbital period excursion is possible. We suggest that the accretion torque on the neutron star could be changed by various mechanisms, including the change of mass accretion rate and the warp angle. We update the value of the orbital decay as $\dot{P}_{\rm{orb}}/P_{\rm{orb}}=-3.380(6)\times10^{-6}$ yr$^{-1}$. Finally, we reconfirm the detection of the superorbital modulation in the optical band and its coherence in phase with the X-ray modulation., Comment: 25 pages, 11 figures, 7 tables, ApJ in press (with minor proofreading correction)

We report results from X-ray and optical observations of the Galactic black hole candidate MAXI J1828-249, performed with Suzaku and the Kanata telescope around the X-ray flux peak in the 2013 outburst. The time-averaged X-ray spectrum covering 0.6--168 keV was approximately characterized by a strong multi-color disk blackbody component with an inner disk temperature of ~0.6 keV, and a power-law tail with a photon index of ~2.0. We detected an additional structure at 5-10 keV, which can be modelled neither with X-ray reflection on the disk, nor relativistic broadening of the disk emission. Instead, it was successfully reproduced with a Comptonization of disk photons by thermal electrons with a relatively low temperature (<~10 keV). We infer that the source was in the intermediate state, considering its long-term trend in the hardness intensity diagram, the strength of the spectral power-law tail, and its variability properties. The low-temperature Comptonization component could be produced in a boundary region between the truncated standard disk and the hot inner flow, or a Comptonizing region that somehow developed above the disk surface. The multi-wavelength spectral energy distribution suggests that the optical and UV fluxes were dominated by irradiated outer disk emission., Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures and 3 tables, Accepted for publication in PASJ

The accretion-induced pulse-period changes of the Be/X-ray binary pulsar X Persei were investigated over a period of 1996 January to 2017 September. This study utilized the monitoring data acquired with the RXTE/ASM in 1.5$-$12 keV and MAXI/GSC in 2$-$20 keV. The source intensity changed by a factor of 5$-$6 over this period. The pulsar was spinning down for 1996$-$2003, and has been spinning up since 2003, as already reported. The spin up/down rate and the 3$-$12 keV flux, determined every 250 d, showed a clear negative correlation, which can be successfully explained by the accretion torque model proposed by Ghosh & Lamb (1979). When the mass, radius and distance of the neutron star are allowed to vary over a range of 1.0$-$2.4 solar masses, 9.5$-$15 km, and 0.77$-$0.85 kpc, respectively, the magnetic field strength of $B=(4-25) \times10^{13}\ \rm G$ gave the best fits to the observation. In contrast, the observed results cannot be explained by the values of $B\sim10^{12}\ \rm G$ previously suggested for X Persei, as long as the mass, radius, and distance are required to take reasonable values. Assuming a distance of $0.81\pm0.04$ kpc as indicated by optical astrometry, the mass of the neutron star is estimated as $M=2.03\pm0.17$ solar masses., Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in PASJ

We present the third MAXI/GSC catalog in the high Galactic-latitude sky ($|b| > 10^\circ$) based on the 7-year data from 2009 August 13 to 2016 July 31, complementary to that in the low Galactic-latitude sky ($|b| < 10^\circ$; Hori et al. 2018). We compile 682 sources detected at significances of $s_{\rm D,4-10~keV} \geq 6.5$ in the 4--10 keV band. A two-dimensional image fit based on the Poisson likelihood algorithm ($C$-statistics) is adopted for the detections and constraints on their fluxes and positions. The 4--10 keV sensitivity reaches $\approx 0.48$ mCrab, or $\approx 5.9 \times 10^{-12}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$, over the half of the survey area. Compared with the 37-month catalog (Hiroi et al. 2013), which adopted a threshold of $s_{\rm D,4-10~keV} \geq 7$, the source number increases by a factor of $\sim$1.4. The fluxes in the 3--4 keV and 10--20 keV bands are further estimated, and hardness ratios (HRs) are calculated using the 3--4 keV, 4--10 keV, 3--10 keV, and 10--20 keV band fluxes. We also make the 4--10 keV lightcurves in one year bins for all the sources and characterize their variabilities with an index based on a likelihood function and the excess variance. Possible counterparts are found from five major X-ray survey catalogs by Swift, Uhuru, RXTE, XMM-Newton, and ROSAT, and an X-ray galaxy-cluster catalog (MCXC). Our catalog provides the fluxes, positions, detection significances, HRs, one-year bin lightcurves, variability indices, and counterpart candidates., Comment: 18 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in ApJS. The links to the full data: Tab. A ( http://www.kusastro.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~kawamuro/arxiv/3mx_TA.dat ), Tab. B ( http://www.kusastro.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~kawamuro/arxiv/3mx_TB.dat ), Fig. A ( http://www.kusastro.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~kawamuro/arxiv/3mx_FA.pdf ), and the Fig. A data ( http://www.kusastro.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~kawamuro/arxiv/3mx_FA.txt )

We report the MAXI observation of the gravitational-wave (GW) event GW170817 and the electromagnetic counterpart of GW170817. GW170817 is a binary neutron star coalescence candidate detected by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors, and it is the first event for which the optical counterpart has been discovered. In the MAXI observation, the Gas Slit Camera (GSC) covered approximately 62% of the sky region of the GW event within 90% probability during the first 92 min of orbit after the trigger. No significant X-ray transient was detected in the error region, and the upper limit of the average flux with a significance of 3 $\sigma$ in the 2--10 keV band was 53/26 mCrab (one-orbit observation/one-day observation). In the optical counterpart of GW170817, the observational window of GSC at the position started at 20 s after the GW trigger, but the high voltage of GSC was unfortunately off at the time because the ISS was entering a high-particle-background region. The first observation of the position by GSC was eventually performed at 16797 sec (4.6 hours) since the GW trigger, yielding the 3 $\sigma$ upper limit of 8.60$\times$10$^{-9}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ in the 2--10 keV band, though it was the earliest X-ray observation of the counterpart., Comment: 9 pages, 19 figures, Accepted to Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan on May 29 2018

We report on the detection and subsequent X-ray monitoring of the new Galactic black hole candidate MAXI J1535-571 with the MAXI/GSC. Afterthe discovery on 2017 September 2 made independently with MAXI and the Swift/BAT, the source brightened gradually, and in a few weeks, reached the peak intensity of ~5 Crab, or ~1.6 x 10^{-7} erg cm^{-2} s^{-1} in terms of the 2--20 keV flux. On the initial outburst rise, the X-ray spectrum was described by a power-law model with a photon index of ~2, while after a hard-to-soft transition which occurred on September 18, the spectrum required a disk blackbody component in addition. At around the flux peak, the 2-8 keV and 15-50 keV light curves showed quasi-periodic and anti-correlated fluctuations with an amplitude of 10--20%, on a time scale of ~1-day. Based on these X-ray properties obtained with the MAXI/GSC, we discuss the evolution of the spectral state of this source, and give constraints on its system parameters., Comment: Submitted to Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan on Apri 3 2018, Accepted by PASJ on July 21 2018

To observationally study spin-period changes of accreting pulsars caused by the accretion torque, the present work analyzes X-ray light curves of 12 Be binary pulsars obtained by the MAXI/GSC all-sky survey and their pulse periods measured by the Fermi/GBM pulsar project, both covering more than 6 years from 2009 August to 2016 March. The 12 objects were selected because they are accompanied by clear optical identification, and accurate measurements of surface magnetic fields. The luminosity $L$ and the spin-frequency derivatives $\dot{\nu}$, measured during large outbursts with $L\gtrsim 1\times 10^{37}$ erg s$^{-1}$, were found to approximately follow the theoretical relations in the accretion torque models, represented by $\dot{\nu} \propto L^{\alpha}$ ($\alpha\simeq 1$), and the coefficient of proportionality between $\dot{\nu}$ and $L^{\alpha}$, agrees, within a factor of $\sim 3$, with that proposed by Ghosh & Lamb (1979). In the course of the present study, the orbital elements of several sources were refined., Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in PASJ

The error region of the the gravitational-wave (GW) event GW151226 was observed with Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI). MAXI was operated at the time of GW151226, and continuously observed to 4 minutes after the event. MAXI covered about 84% of the 90 percent error region of the GW event during the first 92 minutes orbit after the event. No significant X-ray transient was detected in the GW error region. A typical 3-$\sigma$ GSC upper limit for a scan is 1.2 $\times 10^{-9}$ ergs cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ in the 2-20 keV. The auto-detection (MAXI nova-search) systems detected a short excess event with a low significance (2.85$\sigma$) from 5257 s to 5260 s after the GW trigger. Finally, we discuss the sensitivity of MAXI to long X-ray emissions of short gamma-ray bursts, which are expected to accompany GW events., Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures

We searched for X-ray candidates of the gravitational wave (GW) event GW150914 with Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI). MAXI observed the error region of the GW event GW150914 from 4 minutes after the event and covered about 90% of the error region in 25 minutes. No significant time variations on timescales of 1 s to 4 days were found in the GW error region. The $3\sigma$ upper limits for the X-ray emission associated with the GW event in 2--20 keV were 9.5 $\times 10^{-10}$, 2.3 $\times 10^{-10}$, and 0.8 $\times 10^{-10}$ ergs cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ for the time scale of $\sim$ 1000 s, 1 day, and 10 days, respectively. If GW events are associated with short GRBs like GRB 050709, MAXI will be able to detect X-ray emissions from the source., Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures

The black hole binary Cygnus X-1 has a 5.6 day orbital period. We first detected a clear intensity modulation with the orbital period in its high/soft state with 6 year MAXI data, as well as in its low/hard state. In the low/hard state, the folded light curves showed an intensity drop at the superior conjunction of the black hole by a modulation factor (MF), which is the amplitude divided by the average, with 8+-1%, 4+-1% and 3+-2% for 2-4 keV, 4-10 and 10-20 keV bands, showing a spectral hardening at the superior conjunction of the black hole. Spectral analysis with a model consisting of a power law and a photoelectric absorption, showed that the hydrogen column density increased from (2.9+-0.4)E+21 to (4.7+-1.1)E+21 cm^-2 around the superior conjunction, although more complex spectral variation, such as a partial absorption, was suggested, and the flux of the power law component decreased with 6+-1%. On the other hand, the MFs of the folded light curves in the high/soft state, were 4+-1% and 4+-2% for 2-4 keV and 4-10 keV bands, respectively. We applied a model consisting of a power law and a diskblackbody with a photoelectric absorption and found a modulation of the flux of the power law component with 7+-5% in MF, while the modulation of the hydrogen column density was less than 1E+21 cm^-2. These results can be interpreted as follows; the modulation of both states can be mainly explained by scattering of the X-rays by an ionized stellar wind, but only at the superior conjunction in the low/hard state, a large photoelectric absorption appears, because of a low ionization state of the wind in the line of sight at the phase. Such a condition can be established by reasonable parameters of an in-homogeneous wind and the observed luminosities.

In the last 10 years, since its last giant outburst in 2006, regular X-ray outbursts (type I) were detected every periastron passage in the Be X-ray binary EXO 2030+375. Recently, however, it was reported that the source started to show a peculiar behavior: its X-ray flux decreased significantly and type I outbursts were missed in several cases. At the same time, the spin frequency of the neutron star, which had been increasing steadily since the end of the 2006 giant outburst, reached a plateau. Very recent observations indicate that the source is now starting to spin down. These observed phenomena have a striking similarity with those which took place 20 years ago, just before the source displayed a sudden orbital phase shift of the outburst peak (1995). This historical event occurred at the time exactly between the two giant outbursts (1985 and 2006). These phenomena suggest the system to have an underlying periodicity of 10.5 years between orbital phase shifts and/or giant outbursts. The suggested periodicity may reflect some long-period dynamics in the circumstellar disk of the Be star, due, e.g., to the Kozai-Lidov effect. A model generating such a periodic change of the Be disk, namely Kozai-Lidov oscillations in the Be disk, is discussed. If this behavior is really periodical, another phase shift of the X-ray outburst peak is predicted to occur around 2016 December., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A), included minor language corrections

23 giant flares from 13 active stars (eight RS CVn systems, one Algol system, three dMe stars and one YSO) were detected during the first two years of our all-sky X-ray monitoring with the gas propotional counters (GSC) of the Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI). The observed parameters of all of these MAXI/GSC flares are found to be at the upper ends for stellar flares with the luminosity of 10^(31-34) ergs s-1 in the 2-20 keV band, the emission measure of 10^(54-57) cm-3, the e-folding time of 1 hour to 1.5 days, and the total radiative energy released during the flare of 10^(34-39) ergs. Notably, the peak X-ray luminosity of 5(3-9)*10^33 ergs s-1 in the 2-20 keV band was detected in one of the flares on II Peg, which is one of the, or potentially the, largest ever observed in stellar flares. X-ray flares were detected from GT Mus, V841 Cen, SZ Psc, and TWA-7 for the first time in this survey. Whereas most of our detected sources are multiple-star systems, two of them are single stars (YZ CMi and TWA-7). Among the stellar sources within 100 pc distance, the MAXI/GSC sources have larger rotation velocities than the other sources. This suggests that the rapid rotation velocity may play a key role in generating large flares. Combining the X-ray flare data of nearby stars and the sun, taken from literature and our own data, we discovered a universal correlation of tau~L_X^0.2 for the flare duration tau and the intrinsic X-ray luminosity L_X in the 0.1-100 keV band, which holds for 5 and 12 orders of magnitude in tau and L_X, respectively. The MAXI/GSC sample is located at the highest ends on the correlation., Comment: to be published in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan (PASJ)

We derive the first hard X-ray luminosity function (XLF) of stellar tidal disruption events (TDEs) by supermassive black holes (SMBHs), which gives an occurrence rate of TDEs per unit volume as a function of peak luminosity and redshift, utilizing an unbiased sample observed by the Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI). On the basis of the light curves characterized by a power-law decay with an index of $-5/3$, a systematic search using the MAXI data in the first 37 months detected four TDEs, all of which have been found in the literature. To formulate the TDE XLF, we consider the mass function of SMBHs, that of disrupted stars, the specific TDE rate as a function of SMBH mass, and the fraction of TDEs with relativistic jets. We perform an unbinned maximum likelihood fit to the MAXI TDE list and check the consistency with the observed TDE rate in the ROSAT all sky survey. The results suggest that the intrinsic fraction of the jet-accompanying events is $0.0007$--$34\%$. We confirm that at $z \lesssim 1.5$ the contamination by TDEs to the hard X-ray luminosity functions of active galactic nuclei is not significant and hence that their contribution to the growth of SMBHs is negligible at the redshifts., Comment: 17 pages, 25 figures, accepted for publication in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan (PASJ)

Average hard-tail X-ray emission in the soft state of nine bright Atoll low-mass X-ray binaries containing a neutron star (NS-LMXBs) are investigated by using the light curves of MAXI/GSC and Swift/BAT. Two sources (4U 1820$-$30 and 4U 1735$-$44) exhibit large hardness ratio (15--50 keV$/$2--10 keV: {\it HR} $>$ 0.1), while the other sources distribute at {\it HR} $\ltsim$ 0.1. In either case, {\it HR} does not depend on the 2--10 keV luminosity. Therefore the difference of {\it HR} is due to the 15--50 keV luminosity, which is Comptonized emission. The Compton cloud is assumed to be around the neutron star. The size of the Compton cloud would affect the value of {\it HR}. Although the magnetic field of NS-LMXB is weak, we could expect a larger Alfv\'{e}n radius than the innermost stable circular orbit or the neutron star radius in some sources. In such cases, the accretion inflow is stopped at the Alfv\'{e}n radius and would create relatively large Compton cloud. It would result in the observed larger Comptonized emission. By attributing the difference of the size of Compton cloud to the Alfv\'{e}n radius, we can estimate the magnetic fields of neutron star. The obtained lower/upper limits are consistent with the previous results., Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, 2 tables

We analyzed continuous MAXI/GSC data of the X-ray binary pulsar 4U 1626-67 from 2009 October to 2013 September, and determined the pulse period and the pulse-period derivative for every 60-d interval by the epoch folding method. The obtained periods are consistent with those provided by the Fermi/GBM pulsar project. In all the 60-d intervals, the pulsar was observed to spin up, with the spin-up rate positively correlated with the 2-20 keV flux. We applied the accretion torque model proposed by Ghosh & Lamb (1979, ApJ, 234, 296) to the MAXI/GSC data, as well as the past data including both spin-up and spin-down phases. The Ghosh & Lamb relation was confirmed to successfully explain the observed relation between the spin-up/down rate and the flux. By comparing the model-predicted luminosity with the observed flux, the source distance was constrained as 5-13 kpc, which is consistent with that by Chakrabarty (1998, ApJ, 492, 342). Conversely, if the source distance is assumed, the data can constrain the mass and radius of the neutron star, because the Ghosh & Lamb model depends on these parameters. We attempted this idea, and found that an assumed distance of, e.g., 10 kpc gives a mass in the range of 1.81-1.90 solar mass, and a radius of 11.4-11.5 km, although these results are still subject to considerable systematic uncertainties other than that in the distance., Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in PASJ (Suzaku MAXI special issue)

We searched for precursive soft X-ray flashes (SXFs) associated with optically-discovered classical or recurrent novae in the data of five-years all-sky observations with Gas Slit Camera (GSC) of the Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI). We first developed a tool to measure fluxes of point sources by fitting the event distribution with the model that incorporates the point-spread function (PSF-fit) to minimize the potential contamination from nearby sources. Then we applied the PSF-fit tool to 40 classical/recurrent novae that were discovered in optical observations from 2009 August to 2014 August. We found no precursive SXFs with significance above $3 \sigma$ level in the energy range of 2$-$4 keV between $t_{d}-10$d and $t_{d}$, where $t_{d}$ is the date when each nova was discovered. We obtained the upper limits for the bolometric luminosity of SXFs, and compared them with the theoretical prediction and that observed for MAXI J0158$-$744. This result could constrain the population of massive white dwarfs with a mass of roughly 1.40 solar mass, or larger, in binary systems., Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in PASJ

Long-term X-ray variability of the black hole binary, Cygnus X-1, was studied with five years of MAXI data from 2009 to 2014, which include substantial periods of the high/soft state, as well as the low/hard state. In each state, Normalized Power Spectrum densities (NPSDs) were calculated in three energy bands of 2-4 keV, 4-10 keV and 10-20 keV. The NPSDs in a frequency from 1e-7 Hz to 1e-4 Hz are all approximated by a power-law function with an index -1.35 ~ -1.29. The fractional RMS variation ($\eta$), calculated in the above frequency range, was found to show the following three properties; (1) $\eta$ slightly decreases with energy in the low/hard state; (2) $\eta$ increases towards higher energies in the high/soft state; and (3) in the 10-20 keV band, $\eta$ is 3 times higher in the high/soft state than in the low/hard state. These properties were confirmed through studies of intensity-correlated changes of the MAXI spectra. Of these three findings, the first one is consistent with that seen in the short-term variability during the LHS. The latter two can be understood as a result of high variability of the hard-tail component seen in the high/soft state with the above very low frequency range, although the origin of the variability remains inconclusive., Comment: 17 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in PASJ

We present the newly developed broadband transient monitor using the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) and the MAXI Gas Slit Camera (GSC) data. Our broadband transient monitor monitors high energy transient sources from 2 keV to 200 keV in seven energy bands by combining the BAT (15-200 keV) and the GSC (2-20 keV) data. Currently, the daily and the 90-minute (one orbit) averaged light curves are available for 106 high energy transient sources. Our broadband transient monitor is available to the public through our web server, http://yoshidalab.mydns.jp/bat_gsc_trans_mon/, for a wider use by the community. We discuss the daily sensitivity of our monitor and possible future improvements to our pipeline., Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in PASJ

This paper describes the Polarization Spectroscopic Telescope Array (PolSTAR), a mission proposed to NASA's 2014 Small Explorer (SMEX) announcement of opportunity. PolSTAR measures the linear polarization of 3-50 keV (requirement; goal: 2.5-70 keV) X-rays probing the behavior of matter, radiation and the very fabric of spacetime under the extreme conditions close to the event horizons of black holes, as well as in and around magnetars and neutron stars. The PolSTAR design is based on the technology developed for the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) mission launched in June 2012. In particular, it uses the same X-ray optics, extendable telescope boom, optical bench, and CdZnTe detectors as NuSTAR. The mission has the sensitivity to measure ~1% linear polarization fractions for X-ray sources with fluxes down to ~5 mCrab. This paper describes the PolSTAR design as well as the science drivers and the potential science return., Comment: (Astroparticle Physics in press, 34 pages, 23 figures, 6 tables)

X-ray variabilities with spectral state transitions in bright low mass X-ray binaries containing a neutron star are investigated by using the one-day bin light curves of MAXI/GSC (Gas Slit Camera) and Swift/BAT (Burst Alert Telescope). Four sources (4U 1636$-$536, 4U 1705$-$44, 4U 1608$-$52, and GS 1826$-$238) exhibited small-amplitude X-ray variabilities with spectral state transitions. Such "mini-outbursts" were characterized by smaller amplitudes (several times) and shorter duration (less than several tens of days) than those of "normal outbursts." Theoretical model of disk instability by Mineshige and Osaki (PASJ, 37, 1, 1985) predicts both large-amplitude outbursts and small-amplitude variabilities. We interpret the normal outbursts as the former prediction of this model, and the mini-outbursts as the latter. Here, we can also call the mini-outburst as "purr-type outburst" referring to theoretical work. We suggest that similar variabilities lasting for several tens of days without spectral state transitions, which are often observed in the hard state, may be a repeat of mini-outbursts., Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures

A report is made on the luminosity and pulse-period evolution of the Be binary X-ray pulsar, GX 304$-$1, during a series of outbursts from 2009 to 2013 observed by MAXI/GSC, RXTE/PCA, and Fermi/GBM. In total, twelve outbursts repeated by $\sim$ 132.2 days were observed, which is consistent with the X-ray periodicity of this object observed in the 1970s. These 12 outbursts, together with those in the 1970s, were found to all recur with a well defined period of 132.189$\pm$0.02 d, which can be identified with the orbital period. The pulse period at $\sim 275$ s, obtained from the RXTE/PCA and Fermi/GBM data, apparently exhibited a periodic modulation synchronized with the outburst period, suggesting the pulsar orbital motion, which is superposed on a secular spin-up trend throughout the entire active phase. The observed pulse-period changes were successfully represented by a model composed of the binary orbital modulation and pulsar spin up caused by mass accretion through an accretion disk. The orbital elements obtained from the best-fit model, including the projected orbital semi-major axis $a_{\rm x}\sin i \simeq 500-600$ light-s and an eccentricity $e \simeq 0.5$, are typical of Be binary X-ray pulsars., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in PASJ

We report MAXI and Swift observations of short-term spectral softenings of the galactic black-hole X-ray binary Swift J1753.5-0127 in the low/hard state. These softening events are characterized by a simultaneous increase of soft X-rays (2-4 keV) and a decrease of hard X-rays (15-50 keV) lasting for a few tens of days. The X-ray energy spectra during the softening periods can be reproduced with a model consisting of a multi-color disk blackbody and its Comptonized component. The fraction of the Comptonized component decreased from 0.30 to 0.15 when the spectrum became softer; meanwhile the inner disk temperature (Tin) increased from 0.2 to 0.45 keV. These results imply that the softening events are triggered by a short-term increase of the mass accretion rate. During the observed spectral softening events, the disk flux (F) and Tin did not obey the relation: F is proportional to Tin^4, suggesting that the inner disk radius does not reach the innermost stable circular orbit., Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, PASJ, accepted

We study the relation between luminosity and spin-period change in X-ray binary pulsars using long-term light curve obtained by the MAXI/GSC all-sky survey and pulse period data from the Fermi/GBM pulsar project. X-ray binaries, consisting of a highly magnetized neutron star and a stellar companion, originate X-ray emission according to the energy of the accretion matter onto the neutron star. The accretion matter also transfers the angular momentum at the Alfven radius, and then spin up the neutron star. Therefore, the X-ray luminosity and the spin-up rate are supposed to be well correlated. We analyzed the luminosity and period-change relation using the data taken by continuous monitoring of MAXI/GSC and Fermi/GBM for Be/X-ray binaries, GX 304$-$1, A 0535$+$26, GRO J1008$-$57, KS 1947$+$300, and 2S 1417$-$624, which occurred large outbursts in the last four years. We discuss the results comparing the obtained observed relation with that of the theoretical model by Ghosh \& Lamb (1979)., Comment: 2014 Fermi Symposium proceedings - eConf C14102.1

Wide-Field MAXI (WF-MAXI: Wide-Field Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image) is a proposed mission to detect and localize X-ray transients including electro-magnetic counterparts of gravitational-wave events such as gamma-ray bursts and supernovae etc., which are expected to be directly detected for the first time in late 2010's by the next generation gravitational telescopes such as Advanced LIGO and KAGRA. The most distinguishing characteristics of WF-MAXI are a wide energy range from 0.7 keV to 1 MeV and a large field of view (~25 % of the entire sky), which are realized by two main instruments: (i) Soft X-ray Large Solid Angle Camera (SLC) which consists of four pairs of crisscross coded aperture cameras using CCDs as one-dimensional fast-readout detectors covering 0.7 - 12 keV and (ii) Hard X-ray Monitor (HXM) which is a multi-channel array of crystal scintillators coupled with avalanche photo-diodes covering 20 keV - 1 MeV., Comment: 2014 Fermi Symposium proceedings - eConf C14102.1

Since August 2009, MAXI experiment on the ISS has been performing all-sky X-ray monitoring. With MAXI, we detected flaring activities of some blazers, including Mrk 421, Mrk 501, and 3C 273. Recently, new X-ray flaring activities were detected from two blazers, MAXI J1930+093 = 2FGL J1931.1+0938 (Atel#5943) and 2MAXI J0243-582 = BZB J0244-5819 (Atel#6012). The MAXI monitoring also covers black hole binaries, including Cyg X-1 and Cyg X-3 which emit GeV gamma-rays. Their gamma-ray emission was found to coincide with their X-ray state transitions. We present light curves and outstanding events of these sources., Comment: 2014 Fermi Symposium proceedings - eConf C14102.1

The archetypical very-high-energy gamma-ray blazar Mrk 421 was monitored for more than 3 years with the Gas Slit Camera onboard Monitor of All Sky X-ray Image (MAXI), and its longterm X-ray variability was investigated. The MAXI lightcurve in the 3 -- 10 keV range was transformed to the periodogram in the frequency range $f = 1 \times 10^{-8}$ -- $2 \times 10^{-6}$ Hz. The artifacts on the periodogram, resulting from data gaps in the observed lightcurve, were extensively simulated for variations with a power-law like Power Spectrum Density (PSD). By comparing the observed and simulated periodograms, the PSD index was evaluated as $\alpha = 1.60 \pm 0.25$. This index is smaller than that obtained in the higher frequency range ($f > 1 \times 10^{-5}$ Hz), namely, $\alpha = 2.14 \pm 0.06$ in the 1998 ASCA observation of the object. The MAXI data impose a lower limit on the PSD break at $f_{\rm b} = 5 \times 10^{-6}$ Hz, consistent with the break of $f_{\rm b} = 9.5 \times 10^{-6}$ Hz, suggested from the ASCA data. The low frequency PSD index of Mrk 421 derived with MAXI falls well within the range of the typical value among nearby Seyfert galaxies ($\alpha = 1$ -- $2$). The physical implications from these results are briefly discussed., Comment: 27 pages, 8 figures, accepted for ApJ (V797)