Related papers: Extracting Neutron Star Properties from X-ray Burs…
The discovery of high-amplitude brightness oscillations during type I X-ray bursts from six low-mass X-ray binaries has provided a powerful new tool to study the properties of matter at supranuclear densities, the effects of strong gravity,…
Burst oscillations, a phenomenon observed in a significant fraction of Type I (thermonuclear) X-ray bursts, involve the development of highly asymmetric brightness patches in the burning surface layers of accreting neutron stars.…
Observations of thermonuclear (Type I) X-ray bursts from neutron stars in low mass X-ray binaries (LMXB) with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) have revealed large amplitude, high coherence X-ray brightness oscillations with…
Previously, observations with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer showed that millisecond oscillations occur preferentially in thermonuclear X-ray bursts with photospheric radius expansion from sources rotating near 600 Hz, while they occur…
We describe sophisticated new Bayesian analysis methods that make it possible to estimate quickly the masses and radii of rapidly rotating, oblate neutron stars by fitting oblate-star waveform models to energy-resolved observations of the…
Simultaneous, precise measurements of the mass $M$ and radius $R$ of neutron stars can yield uniquely valuable information about the still uncertain properties of cold matter at several times the density of nuclear matter. One method that…
I review the basic phenomenology and theory of the millisecond brightness oscillations observed during thermonuclear X-ray bursts from 13 of approximately 70 accreting neutron stars in low-mass X-ray binaries. Compelling observations…
We study the effects of the time-variable properties of thermonuclear X-ray bursts on modeling their millisecond-period burst oscillations. We apply the pulse profile modeling technique that is being used in the analysis of rotation-powered…
Precise and accurate measurements of neutron star masses and radii would provide valuable information about the still uncertain properties of cold matter at supranuclear densities. One promising approach to making such measurements involves…
High amplitude, nearly coherent X-ray brightness oscillations during thermonuclear X-ray bursts were discovered with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) in early 1996. Spectral and timing evidence strongly supports the conclusion that…
We examine the energy-resolved pulse profiles of 51 flux oscillations observed during the decline of thermonuclear X-ray bursts from accreting weakly- magnetized neutron stars with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. We find that the…
Detailed modeling of the millisecond brightness oscillations during thermonuclear bursts from low mass X-ray binaries can provide important information about neutron star structure. Until now the implementation of this idea has not been…
I summarize some constraints on the physics of neutron stars arising from X-ray observations of the surfaces of neutron stars, focusing on using models of low-magnetic-field neutron star atmospheres to interpret their X-ray spectra. I…
Type I X-ray bursts are thermonuclear flashes observed from the surfaces of accreting neutron stars (NSs) in Low Mass X-ray Binaries. Oscillations have been observed during the rise and/or decay of some of these X-ray bursts. Those seen…
We present a comprehensive observational and theoretical analysis of the amplitudes and profiles of oscillations that occur during thermonuclear X-ray bursts from weakly-magnetized neutron stars in low mass X-ray binaries. Our sample…
Many distinct classes of high-energy variability have been observed in astrophysical sources, on a range of timescales. The widest range (spanning microseconds-decades) is found in accreting, stellar-mass compact objects, including neutron…
The line profiles from rotating neutron stars are affected by a number of relativistic processes such as Doppler boosts, strong self-lensing, frame-dragging, and the differential gravitational redshift arising from the stellar oblateness.…
The observation of the x-ray pulse profile emitted by hotspots on the surface of neutron stars offers a unique tool to measure the bulk properties of these objects, including their masses and radii. The x-ray emission takes place at the…
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…
Thermonuclear burning on the surface of a neutron star causes the expansion of a thin outer layer of the star, $\Delta R(t)$. The layer rotates slower than the star due to angular momentum conservation. The shear between the star and the…