Constraining the Neutron Star Mass--Radius Relation and Dense Matter Equation of State with NICER. III. Model Description and Verification of Parameter Estimation Codes

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We describe the X-ray pulse profile models we use, and how we use them, to analyze Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) observations of rotation-powered millisecond pulsars to obtain information about the mass-radius relation of neutron stars and the equation of state of the dense matter in their cores.

• Here we detail our modeling of the observed profile of PSR J0030+0451 that we analyzed in Miller et al.
• (2019) and Riley et al.
• (2019) and describe a cross-verification of computations of the pulse profiles of a star with R/M 3, in case stars this compact need to be considered in future analyses.