Related papers: Hydrogen-Triggered Type I X-ray Bursts in a Two-Zo…
Type I X-ray Bursts (XRBs) are thermonuclear explosions of accreted material on the surfaces of a neutron stars in low mass X-ray binaries. Prior to the ignition of a subsonic burning front, runaway burning at the base of the accreted layer…
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…
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…
We investigate the atmosphere, ocean, and crust of neutron stars accreting at rates sufficiently high (typically in excess of the local Eddington limit) to stabilize the burning of accreted hydrogen and helium. For hydrogen-rich accretion…
A helium nova occurs on a white dwarf (WD) accreting hydrogen-deficient matter from a helium star companion. When the mass of a helium envelope on the WD reaches a critical value, unstable helium burning ignites to trigger a nova outburst.…
Thermonuclear X-ray bursts from accreting neutron stars power brief but strong irradiation of their surroundings, providing a unique way to study accretion physics. We analyze MAXI/GSC and Swift/XRT spectra of a day-long flash observed from…
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…
Modelling of thermonuclear X-ray bursts on accreting neutron stars has to date focused on stable accretion rates. However, bursts are also observed during episodes of transient accretion. During such events, the accretion rate can evolve…
The X-ray burster GS 1826-24 shows extremely regular Type I X-ray bursts whose energetics and recurrence times agree well with thermonuclear ignition models. We present calculations of sequences of burst lightcurves using multizone models…
Type-I X-ray burst light curves encode unique information about the structure of accreting neutron stars and the nuclear reaction rates of the rp-process that powers bursts. Using the first model calculations of hydrogen/helium burning…
We report the detection during the JEM-X/INTEGRAL observations of several X-ray bursters of series of close type I X-ray bursts consisting of two or three events with a recurrence time much shorter than the characteristic (at the observed…
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.…
The study of the observational properties of uncommonly long bursts from low luminosity sources with extended decay times up to several tens of minutes is important when investigating the transition from a hydrogen-rich bursting regime to a…
For thermonuclear flashes to occur on neutron-star surfaces, fuel must have been accreted from a donor star. However, sometimes flashes are seen from transient binary systems when they are thought to be in their quiescent phase, during…
When neutron stars accrete matter from a companion star, this matter forms a disc around them and eventually falls on their surface. Here, the fuel can ignite into bright flashes called Type I bursts. Theoretical calculations based on…
We analysed thermonuclear (type-I) X-ray bursts observed from the low-mass X-ray binary 4U1728-34 by RXTE, Chandra and INTEGRAL. We compared the variation in burst energy and recurrence times as a function of accretion rate with the…
We investigate the thermal stability of nuclear burning on the accreting X-ray pulsar GRO J1744-28. The neutron star's dipolar magnetic field is <3\times 10^{11} G if persistent spin-up implies that the magnetospheric radius is less than…
AM Canum Venaticorum (AM CVn) binaries consist of a degenerate helium donor and a helium, C/O, or O/Ne WD accretor, with accretion rates of Mdot = 1e-13 - 1e-5 Msol/yr. For accretion rates < 1e-6 Msol/yr, the accreted helium ignites…
The light curves of type I X-ray bursts (XRBs) result from energy released from the atmosphere of a neutron star when accreted hydrogen and helium ignite and burn explosively via the rp-process. Since charged particle reaction rates are…
I review our theoretical understanding of thermonuclear flashes on accreting neutron stars, concentrating on comparisons to observations. Sequences of regular Type I X-ray bursts from GS 1826-24 and 4U 1820-30 are very well described by the…