| | 13 | Although rotation-powered ("recycled") millisecond pulsars are routinely |
| | 14 | discovered and studied primarily at radio frequencies, the soft X-ray |
| | 15 | band (~0.1-10 keV) provides complementary information regarding the |
| | 16 | basic physics of these objects that is inaccessible via radio timing |
| | 17 | observations alone. Recent X-ray studies with Chandra and XMM-Newton |
| | 18 | have revealed that the majority of millisecond pulsars exhibit faint |
| | 19 | ~0.5-2 MK thermal radiation from their magnetic polar caps. Realistic |
| | 20 | modelling of this surface emission, including full relativistic and |
| | 21 | atmospheric effect, has the potential to yield stringent constraints on |
| | 22 | the elusive neutron star equation of state. In this talk I will |
| | 23 | summarize the current state of affairs and future prospects in the study |
| | 24 | of millisecond pulsars at X-ray energies. |
