Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
1999-05-20
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
To appear in the Astrophysical Journal (33 pages, LaTeX, including 11 postscript figures)
Scientific paper
10.1086/307837
We calculate the nucleosynthesis during stable nuclear burning on an accreting neutron star. This is appropriate for weakly magnetic neutron stars accreting at near-Eddington rates in low mass X-ray binaries, and for most accreting X-ray pulsars. We show that the nuclear burning proceeds via the rapid proton capture process (rp process), and makes nuclei far beyond the iron group. The final mixture of nuclei consists of elements with a range of masses between approximately A=60 and A=100. The average nuclear mass of the ashes is set by the extent of helium burning via (alpha,p) reactions, and depends on the local accretion rate. Our results imply that the crust of these accreting neutron stars is made from a complex mixture of heavy nuclei, with important implications for its thermal, electrical and structural properties. A crustal lattice as impure as our results suggest will have a conductivity set mostly by impurity scattering, allowing more rapid Ohmic diffusion of magnetic fields than previously estimated.
Bildsten Lars
Cumming Andrew
Schatz Hendrik
Wiescher Michael
No associations
LandOfFree
The rp Process Ashes from Stable Nuclear Burning on an Accreting Neutron Star does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with The rp Process Ashes from Stable Nuclear Burning on an Accreting Neutron Star, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The rp Process Ashes from Stable Nuclear Burning on an Accreting Neutron Star will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-80198