EXOSAT Observations of 4U/MXB 1636-53: On the Relation between the Amount of Accreted Fuel and the Strength of an X-Ray Burst
Abstract
During EXOSAT observations of 4U/MXB 1636-53 in 1985 August, three bursts were observed in 6 hr and 24 bursts in 79 hr of uninterrupted observing. The persistent X-ray flux varied by about a factor of 2.4, the burst intervals by a factor of 24 (from 35 minutes to 14 hr), and the integrated burst fluxes (the burst fluences), and burst peak fluxes both approximately by a factor of 6. Very globally, the burst fluence is approximately linearly proportional to the interval since the preceding burst. In the context of the thermonuclear flash models, all bursts suffer from nuclear energy losses due to stable hydrogen burning between the bursts. This provides a mechanism in which the percentage of "lost" energy increases with increasing burst intervals.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- August 1987
- DOI:
- 10.1086/165506
- Bibcode:
- 1987ApJ...319..893L
- Keywords:
-
- Neutron Stars;
- Nuclear Fusion;
- Radiant Flux Density;
- Spaceborne Astronomy;
- Stellar Mass Accretion;
- X Ray Spectra;
- Exosat Satellite;
- Satellite Observation;
- Stellar Mass Ejection;
- Stellar Models;
- Stellar Spectrophotometry;
- Astrophysics;
- NUCLEAR REACTIONS;
- STARS: ACCRETION;
- STARS: NEUTRON;
- X-RAYS: BURSTS