Related papers: Nuclear Physics of X-ray Bursts
Supernova remnants are beautiful astronomical objects that are also of high scientific interest, because they provide insights into supernova explosion mechanisms, and because they are the likely sources of Galactic cosmic rays. X-ray…
A small subset of thermonuclear X-ray bursts on neutron stars exhibit such a strong photospheric expansion that for a few seconds the photosphere is located at a radius r_ph >~ 1000 km. Such `superexpansions' imply a large and rapid energy…
X-ray burst spectra have long been used to estimate neutron star masses and radii. These estimates assumed that burst spectra are accurately described by the model atmosphere spectra developed over the last three decades. We compared RXTE…
Nuclear physics offers us a powerful tool: using nuclear resonance absorption lines to infer the physical conditions in astrophysical settings which are otherwise difficult to deduce. Present-day technology provides an increase in…
We measured the thermonuclear burning efficiency as a function of accretion rate for the Type I X-ray bursts of five low-mass X-ray binary systems. We chose sources with measured neutron star spins and a substantial population of bursts…
We present recent work on using astronomical observations of neutron stars to reveal unique insights into nuclear matter that cannot be obtained from laboratories on Earth. First, we discuss our measurement of the rapid cooling of the…
In this review we discuss the current status of research in nuclear physics which is being carried out in different centers in the World. For this purpose we supply a short account of the development in the area which evolved over the last…
To anyone who has read a scientific journal or even a newspaper in the last six months, it might appear that cosmic gamma-ray bursts hold no more mysteries: they are cosmological, and possibly the most powerful explosions in the Universe.…
Observations of Type I X-ray bursts have long been taken as evidence that the sources are neutron stars. Black body models approximate the spectral data and imply a suddenly heated neutron star cooling over characteristic times of seconds…
Neutron stars in low-mass X-ray binaries are thought to be heated up by accretion-induced exothermic nuclear reactions in the crust. The energy release and the location of the heating sources are important ingredients of the thermal…
Neutron stars in close binary star systems often accrete matter from their companion stars. Thermonuclear ignition of the accreted material in the atmosphere of the neutron star leads to a thermonuclear explosion which is observed as an…
Half a century has passed since the foundation of nuclear astrophysics. Since then, this discipline has reached its maturity. Today, nuclear astrophysics constitutes a multidisciplinary crucible of knowledge that combines the achievements…
Neutron stars are some of the densest manifestations of massive objects in the universe. They are ideal astrophysical laboratories for testing theories of dense matter physics and provide connections among nuclear physics, particle physics…
Many thermonuclear X-ray bursts exhibit brightness oscillations. The brightness oscillations are thought to be due to the combined effects of non-uniform nuclear burning and rotation of the neutron star. The waveforms of the oscillations…
Type I X-ray bursts are thermonuclear explosions on the surface of accreting neutron stars. Hydrogen rich X-ray bursts burn protons far from the line of stability and can release energy in the form of neutrinos from $\beta$-decays. We have…
We present a global linear stability analysis of nuclear fuel accumulating on the surface of an accreting neutron star and we identify the conditions under which thermonuclear bursts are triggered. The analysis reproduces all the recognized…
Recent X-ray observations have had a major impact on topics ranging from protostars to cosmology. They have also drawn attention to important and general physical processes that currently limit our understanding of thermal and nonthermal…
X-ray bursts are thermonuclear explosions on the surface of accreting neutron stars in low mass X-ray binaries. As most of the known X-ray bursters are frequently observed by INTEGRAL, an international collaboration have been taking…
It has recently been shown that the persistent emission of a neutron star low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) evolves during a thermonuclear (type-I) X-ray burst. The reason of this evolution, however, is not securely known. This uncertainty can…
Neutron stars, with their strong surface gravity, have interestingly short timescales for the sedimentation of heavy elements. Recent observations of unstable thermonuclear burning (observed as X-ray bursts) on the surfaces of slowly…