Related papers: Superburst Models for Neutron Stars with Hydrogen …
Accreting neutron stars exhibit Type I X-ray bursts from both frequent hydrogen/helium flashes as well as rare carbon flashes. The latter (superbursts) ignite in the ashes of the former. Hydrogen/helium bursts, however, are thought to…
Superbursts are very energetic Type I X-ray bursts discovered in recent years by long term monitoring of X-ray bursters, believed to be due to unstable ignition of carbon in the deep ocean of the neutron star. A number of "intermediate…
Superbursts are thought to be powered by the unstable ignition of a carbon-enriched layer formed from the burning of accreted hydrogen and helium. As shown by Cumming & Bildsten, the short recurrence time hinges on the crust being…
Hydrogen and helium accreted onto a neutron star undergo thermonuclear burning. Explosive burning is observed as a type I X-ray burst. We describe the different burning regimes and focus on some of the current inconsistencies between theory…
Superbursts were discovered at the beginning of this millennium. Just like type-I X-ray bursts, they are thought to be due to thermonuclear shell flashes on neutron stars, only igniting much deeper. With respect to type-I bursts, they last…
Superbursts are very energetic Type I X-ray bursts discovered in recent years by long term monitoring of X-ray bursters, and believed to be due to unstable ignition of carbon in the deep ocean of the neutron star. In this Letter, we follow…
Thermonuclear flashes of hydrogen and helium accreted onto neutron stars produce the frequently observed Type I X-ray bursts. It is the current paradigm that almost all material burns in a burst, after which it takes hours to accumulate…
Superbursts are rare and energetic thermonuclear carbon flashes observed to occur on accreting neutron stars. We create the first multi-zone models of series of superbursts using a stellar evolution code. We self-consistently build up the…
Superbursts from accreting neutron stars probe nuclear reactions at extreme densities ($\rho \approx 10^{9}~g\,cm^{-3}$) and temperatures ($T>10^9~K$). These bursts ($\sim$1000 times more energetic than type I X-ray bursts) are most likely…
In many X-ray point sources on the sky, the X-ray emission arises because hydrogen and/or helium is accreted onto a neutron star from a nearby donor star. When this matter settles on the neutron star surface, it will undergo nuclear fusion.…
(abridged) We have investigated the physical conditions under which accreting neutron stars can both produce and preserve sufficient quantities of carbon fuel to trigger superbursts. Our models span the plausible ranges of neutron star…
The study of transiently accreting neutron stars provides a powerful means to elucidate the properties of neutron star crusts. We present extensive numerical simulations of the evolution of the neutron star in the transient low-mass X-ray…
The hydrogen and helium accreted by X-ray bursting neutron stars is periodically consumed in runaway thermonuclear reactions that cause the entire surface to glow brightly in X-rays for a few seconds. With models of the emission, the mass…
Superbursts of neutron stars are rare but powerful events explained by the explosive burning of carbon in the deep layers of the outer envelope of the star. In this paper we perform a simulation of superbursts and propose a simple method…
I present ignition models for Type I X-ray bursts and superbursts from the ultracompact binary 4U 1820-30. A pure helium secondary is usually assumed for this system, although some evolutionary models predict a small amount of hydrogen…
We carry out a general-relativistic global linear stability analysis of the amassed carbon fuel on the surface of an accreting neutron star to determine the conditions under which superbursts occur. We reproduce the general observational…
Superbursts are hours-long X-ray flares attributed to the thermonuclear runaway burning of carbon-rich material in the envelope of accreting neutron stars. By studying the details of the X-ray light curve, properties of carbon combustion…
Rare, energetic (long) thermonuclear (Type I) X-ray bursts are classified either as intermediate-duration or superbursts, based on their duration. Intermediate-duration bursts lasting a few to tens of minutes are thought to arise from the…
Superbursts are long duration, rare, and extremely energetic thermonuclear explosions of neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries (NS LMXBs), which are proposed to be due to unstable carbon ignition. We report the superburst properties and…
I review our understanding of the thermonuclear instabilities on accreting neutron stars that produce Type I X-Ray bursts. I emphasize those observational and theoretical aspects that should interest the broad audience of this meeting. The…