Thermonuclear runaways on neutron stars

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

63

Neutron Stars, Stellar Evolution, Thermonuclear Reactions, Astrophysics, Bursts, Helium, Hydrogen, Stellar Envelopes, Stellar Temperature, Time Dependence

Scientific paper

Thermonuclear runaways which develop when neutron stars of 0.476 solar masses accrete hydrogen-rich material at 10 to the -10th and 2 x 10 to the -9th solar masses/year have been followed using a numerical model. It is found that a thermal instability occurs at densities in excess of 10 to the 5th g/cu cm and that the maximum accumulated mass required to initiate the runaway is 0.7 x 10 to the -12th and 2.1 x 10 to the -12th solar masses for the mass accretion rates of 10 to the -10th and 2 x 10 to the -9th solar masses/year, respectively. Heating the of the neutron star envelope by hydrogen burning leads to the ignition of helium. The nonequilibrium burning of helium by a combination of (alpha, p), (p, gamma), and (alpha, gamma) reactions involving O-14, O-15, and other heavy nuclei provides the energy for an X-ray burst. The gross properties of these models bear suggestive resemblance to those observed for some X-ray burst sources.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Thermonuclear runaways on neutron stars 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 Thermonuclear runaways on neutron stars, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Thermonuclear runaways on neutron stars will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1387464

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.