NICER observation list: Target ID 258702

Two large area high time resolution X-ray astronomy instruments, NICER (0.2-12 keV) and AstroSat/LAXPC (3-80 keV), are currently available. A careful program to observe neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) utilizing the unique capabilities of these two instruments in largely complementary energy ranges will be useful to probe the fundamental physics of dense matter and strong gravity by studying kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations and thermonuclear burst oscillations. Such joint NICER/AstroSat observations will also probe the X-ray spectral components and their evolution in an unprecedented way. Here we propose to observe three bright and persistent neutron star LMXBs for a total exposure of 225 ks with NICER jointly with AstroSat (AstroSat program PI: Sudip Bhattacharyya).