New Insights and Opportunities from Thermonuclear X-ray Bursts
Abstract
The last decade has seen great strides in our observational understanding of thermonuclear X-ray bursts from accreting neutron stars. This observational renaissance has largely been enabled by sensitive, high time resolution observations with NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). These new observations provide an opportunity to probe neutron stars, and their complex physics, with unprecedented detail. I will discuss recent work on observations and modeling of double-peaked bursts and burst oscillations. This will include a description of what these phenomena can tell us about neutron stars, as well as highlighting the important connections to the nuclear physics which ultimately drives the bursts.
- Publication:
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APS Division of Nuclear Physics Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- October 2007
- Bibcode:
- 2007APS..DNP.JD001S