Related papers: Nuclear-powered X-ray millisecond pulsars
We review the nuclear astrophysics aspects of accreting neutron stars in X-ray binaries. We summarize open astrophysical questions in light of recent observations and their relation to the underlying nuclear physics. Recent progress in the…
New astrophysical instruments such as skA (square kilometer Array) and IXO (formerly Constellation X) promise the discovery of tens of thousands of new isolated rotating neutron stars (pulsars), neutron stars in low-mass X-ray binaries…
I review the properties of three X-ray accreting millisecond pulsars observed with INTEGRAL. Out of seven recently discovered accretion-powered pulsars (one discovered by INTEGRAL), three were observed with the INTEGRAL satellite up to 300…
Members of the family of pulsar-like stars are distinguished by their different manifestations observed, i.e., radio pulsars, accretion-driven X-ray pulsars, X-ray bursts, anomalous X-ray pulsars/soft gamma-ray repeaters, compact center…
Type-I X-ray bursts observed from neutron stars originate from intermittent unstable thermonuclear burning of accreted matter on these stars. Such bursts, particularly those reaching the Eddington luminosity and having a temporary…
Type-I X-ray bursts are thermonuclear explosions occurring in the surface layers of accreting neutron stars. These events are powerful probes of the physics of neutron stars and their surrounding accretion flow. We analyze a very energetic…
Pulsars are spinning neutron stars with very regular periods. These pulsars have, however, had instances where they exhibit a change in their periods. Older theories have shown that older pulsars have a tendency to skip and speed up. Newer…
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…
We review the observational properties of the class of young neutron stars known as "anomalous X-ray pulsars," emphasizing the tremendous progress that has been made in recent years, and explain why these objects, like the "soft gamma…
We study the spin-down of a neutron star atmosphere during the Type I X-ray burst in low mass X-ray binaries. Using polar cap acceleration models, we show that the resulting stellar ``wind'' torque on the burning shell due to the flowing…
X-ray bursts are thermonuclear flashes on the surface of accreting neutron stars and reliable burst models are needed to interpret observations in terms of properties of the neutron star and the binary system. We investigate the dependence…
A plasma focus device capable of operating at 0.2 pulses per second during several minutes is used as a source of hard x-rays and fast neutrons. An experimental demonstration of the use of the neutrons emissions for radiation probing of…
A neutron star low-mass X-ray binary is a binary stellar system with a neutron star and a low-mass companion star rotating around each other. In this system the neutron star accretes mass from the companion, and as this matter falls into…
X-ray emission from many rotation-powered millisecond pulsars (MSPs) is observed to be of predominantly thermal nature. In PSR J0437--4715, the nearest MSP known, an additional faint power-law tail is observed above 2.5 keV, commonly…
The atmospheres of weakly-magnetized neutron stars expand hydrostatically and rotate differentially during thermonuclear X-ray bursts. Differential rotation is probably related to the frequency drifts of millisecond burst oscillations…
I present an analysis of the XMM-Newton observations of four millisecond pulsars, J0437-4715, J2124-3358, J1024-0719, and J0034-0534. The new data provide strong evidence of thermal emission in the X-ray flux detected from the first three…
Accreting neutron stars (NS) can exhibit high-frequency modulations, known as burst oscillations, in their lightcurves during thermonuclear X-ray bursts. Their frequencies can be offset from the spin frequency of the NS (known…
We present the first detection of X-ray coherent pulsations from the transitional millisecond pulsar XSS J12270-4859, while it was in a sub-luminous accretion disk state characterized by a 0.5-10 keV luminosity of 5E33 erg/s (assuming a…
Burst oscillations during the rising phases of thermonuclear X-ray bursts are usually believed to originate from flame spreading on the neutron star surface. However, the decrease of fractional oscillation amplitude with rise time, which…
Neutron stars in X-ray binary systems are fascinating objects that display a wide range of timing and spectral phenomena in the X-rays. Not only parameters of the neutron stars, like magnetic field strength and spin period evolve in their…