Exosat observations of 4U/MXB 1636-53 - On the relation between the amount of accreted fuel and the strength of an X-ray burst

Journal Article · Sat Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1987 · Astrophys. J.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1086/165506· OSTI ID:5831507

Lewin, W H.G.; Penninx, W; Van paradijs, J; Damen, E; Sztajno, M

During Exosat observations of 4U/MXB 1636-53 in August 1985, three bursts were observed in 6 h and 24 bursts in 79 h of uninterrupted observation. The burst times, burst fluences, peak burst fluxes, burst rise times, decay times, burst intervals, mean persistent fluxes, and the product of the latter two are listed, analyzed, and discussed. The implications of the results for thermonuclear flash models are examined. A model which fits the data well involves bursts which suffer from nuclear energy losses due to stable hydrogen burning between bursts. Thus, the percentage of lost energy increases with increasing burst intervals. For individual bursts, however, there are significant deviations from the approximate linear relationship. 43 references.

• Research Organization: MIT, Cambridge, MA; Amsterdam Universiteit, Netherlands; Max-Planck-Institut fuer Extraterrestrische Physik, Garching, West Germany
• OSTI ID: 5831507
• Journal Information: Astrophys. J.; (United States), Journal Name: Astrophys. J.; (United States) Vol. 319; ISSN ASJOA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640102* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Stars & Quasi-Stellar
Radio & X-Ray Sources
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
COSMIC RAY SOURCES
COSMIC X-RAY BURSTS
COSMIC X-RAY SOURCES
ENERGY LOSSES
FLUX DENSITY
HYDROGEN BURNING
LOSSES
MASS TRANSFER
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NEUTRON STARS
RADIANT FLUX DENSITY
SATELLITES
SPECTRA
SPECTROPHOTOMETRY
STAR ACCRETION
STAR BURNING
STAR EVOLUTION
STAR MODELS
STARS
X-RAY SPECTRA