Related papers: On the spreading layer emission in luminous accret…
Spectra of the spreading layers on the neutron star surface are calculated on the basis of the Inogamov-Sunyaev model taking into account general relativity correction to the surface gravity and considering various chemical composition of…
The heating and cooling of transiently accreting neutron stars provides a powerful probe of the structure and composition of their crust. Observations of superbursts and crust cooling of accretion-heated neutron stars require more heat…
When a neutron star accretes matter from a companion star in a low-mass X-ray binary, the accreted gas settles onto the stellar surface through a boundary/spreading layer. On rare occasions the accumulated gas undergoes a powerful…
We present solutions for the structure of the boundary layer where the accretion disk meets the neutron star, which is expected to be the dominant source of high-energy radiation in low-mass X-ray binaries which contain weakly magnetized…
Time resolved X-ray spectroscopy of thermonuclear bursts observed from low mass X-ray binaries offer a unique tool to measure neutron star masses and radii. In this paper, we continue our systematic analysis of all the X-ray bursts observed…
Using Fourier frequency resolved X-ray spectroscopy we study short term spectral variability in luminous LMXBs. With RXTE/PCA observations of 4U1608--52 and GX340+0 on the horizontal/normal branch of the color-intensity diagram we show that…
We investigate the limitations of thermonuclear X-ray bursts as a distance indicator for the weakly-magnetized accreting neutron star 4U 1728-34. We measured the unabsorbed peak flux of 81 bursts in public data from the Rossi X-Ray Timing…
The accumulation of accreted matter onto the neutron star surface triggers exothermic reactions in the crust. The heat released as a result influences the luminosity exhibited by the X-ray transient. The most common approach to the kinetics…
Some thermonuclear (type I) X-ray bursts at the neutron star surfaces in low-mass X-ray binaries take place during hard persistent states of the systems. Spectral evolution of these bursts is well described by the atmosphere model of a…
Recent observations show that the thermal X-ray spectra of many isolated neutron stars are featureless and in some cases (e.g., RX J1856.5-3754) well fit by a blackbody. Such a perfect blackbody spectrum is puzzling since radiative…
The illumination of the accretion disc in a neutron star X-ray binary by X-rays emitted from (or close to) the neutron star surface is explored through general relativistic ray tracing simulations. The applicability of the canonical suite…
We demonstrate that Fourier-frequency resolved spectra of atoll and Z- sources are identical, despite significant difference in their average spectra and luminosity (by a factor of ~10-20). This result fits in the picture we suggested…
Eddington-limited X-ray bursts from neutron stars can be used in conjunction with other spectroscopic observations to measure neutron star masses, radii, and distances. In order to quantify some of the uncertainties in the determination of…
Precision measurements of neutron star radii can provide a powerful probe of the properties of cold matter beyond nuclear density. Beginning in the late 1970s it was proposed that the radius could be obtained from the apparent or inferred…
We consider the interaction of a slowly rotating unmagnetized neutron star with a hot (ion supported, ADAF) accretion flow. The virialized protons of the ADAF penetrate into the neutron star atmosphere, heating a surface layer. Detailed…
X-ray bursting neutron stars in low mass X-ray binaries constitute an appropriate source class to constrain masses and radii of neutron stars, but a sufficiently extended set of corresponding model atmospheres is necessary for these…
The thermal X-ray spectra of several isolated neutron stars display deviations from a pure blackbody. The accurate physical interpretation of these spectral features bears profound implications for our understanding of the atmospheric…
In this review I briefly describe the latest advances in studies of aperiodic variability of accreting X-ray binaries and outline the model which currently describe the majority of observational appearances of variability of accreting…
Nuclear reactions occurring deep in the crust of a transiently accreting neutron star efficiently maintain the core at a temperature >5e7 K. When accretion halts, the envelope relaxes to a thermal equilibrium set by the flux from the hot…
Thermal emission during X-ray bursts is a powerful tool to determine neutron star masses and radii, if the Eddington flux and the apparent radius in the cooling tail can be measured accurately, and distances to the sources are known. We…