The Radius of PSR J0740+6620 from NICER and XMM-Newton Data

PSR J0740+6620 has a gravitational mass of 2.08 +/- 0.07 M-circle dot, which is the highest reliably determined mass of any neutron star. As a result, a measurement of its radius will provide unique insight into the properties of neutron star core matter at high densities. Here we report a radius measurement based on fits of rotating hot spot patterns to Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) and X-ray Multi-Mirror (XMM-Newton) X-ray observations. We find that the equatorial circumferential radius of PSR J0740+6620 is 13.7(-1.5)(+2.6) km (68%). We apply our measurement, combined with the previous NICER mass and radius measurement of PSR J0030+0451, the masses of two other similar to 2 M-circle dot pulsars, and the tidal deformability constraints from two gravitational wave events, to three different frameworks for equation-of-state modeling, and find consistent results at similar to 1.5-5 times nuclear saturation density. For a given framework, when all measurements are included, the radius of a 1.4 M-circle dot neutron star is known to +/- 4% (68% credibility) and the radius of a 2.08 M-circle dot neutron star is known to +/- 5%. The full radius range that spans the +/- 1s credible intervals of all the radius estimates in the three frameworks is 12.45 +/- 0.65 km for a 1.4 M-circle dot neutron star and 12.35 +/- 0.75 km for a 2.08 M-circle dot neutron star.

Automated summary

PSR J0740+6620 has a gravitational mass of 2.08 +/- 0.07 solar masses and a radius of 13.7(-1.5)(+2.6) km, providing insights into neutron star core matter properties at high densities consistent with previous measurements and modeling frameworks.