Connecting the m-dots: accretion rates and thermonuclear burst recurrence times on neutron stars and white dwarfs

Abstract

We present a compilation of observed recurrence times ($t_{\mathrm{rec}}$) and infer the corresponding local mass-accretion rates ($\dot{m}$) for type I X-ray bursts, milliHertz quasi-periodic oscillating sources and recurrent novae eruptions. We construct models of the $t_{\mathrm{rec}}-\dot{m}$ relation for accreting white dwarfs and neutron stars and find that both are roughly consistent with a global inverse linear relation, connecting for the first time thermonuclear runaways on neutron stars and white dwarfs. We find that theoretical models of pure He bursts are in agreement with the best $t_{\mathrm{rec}}$ measurements in ultra-compact X-ray binaries at low $\dot{m}$ (4U~$0614+09$ and 2S~0918-549). We suggest that the transient Z source XTE~J1701-462 is a slow rotator, based on its mHz QPO properties. Finally, we discuss the implications for thermonuclear ignition and point out that the difference in eruption/burst energy ($E_{b_{WD}}/E_{b_{NS}}=2\times 10^4$) is consistent with the difference in area between neutron stars and white dwarfs $\left((R_{WD}/R_{NS}{)}^2=4\times 10^4\right)$. We conclude that ignitions of thermonuclear shell flashes on neutron stars and white dwarfs depend primarily on the specific mass accretion rate and do not depend on the nature of the underlying compact object.

15 pages, 4 figures, Accepted in MNRAS

References in corpus (35)

• Thermonuclear (type-I) X-ray bursts observed by the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer
• Six new candidate ultracompact X-ray binaries
• Unstable Helium Shell Burning on Accreting White Dwarfs
• Intermittent millisecond X-ray pulsations from the neutron-star X-ray transient SAX J1748.9-2021 in the globular cluster NGC 6440
• Spectroscopic orbits and variations of RS Oph
• Sedimentation and Type I X-ray Bursts at Low Accretion Rates
• Analysing the atolls: X-ray spectral transitions of accreting neutron stars
• M31N 2008-12a - the remarkable recurrent nova in M31: Pan-chromatic observations of the 2015 eruption
• Identifying and Quantifying Recurrent Novae Masquerading as Classical Novae
• Turbulent Mixing in the Surface Layers of Accreting Neutron Stars
• Spectral and timing properties of the accreting X-ray millisecond pulsar IGR J17511-3057
• The secrets of T Pyxidis II. A recurrent nova that will not become a SN Ia
• Time-resolved optical photometry of the ultra-compact binary 4U0614+091
• Recurrent Novae in M31
• Inflows, Outflows, and a Giant Donor in the Remarkable Recurrent Nova M31N 2008-12a? - Hubble Space Telescope Photometry of the 2015 Eruption
• Modifying the Standard Disk Model for the Ultraviolet Spectral Analysis of Disk-dominated Cataclysmic Variables. I. The Novalikes MV Lyrae, BZ Camelopardalis, and V592 Cassiopeiae
• The discovery of the 528.6 Hz accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar MAXI J1816-195
• X-Ray Flashes in Recurrent Novae: M31N 2008-12a and the Implications of the Swift Non-detection
• A catalogue of unusually long thermonuclear bursts on neutron stars
• The Nova KT Eri Is a Recurrent Nova With a Recurrence Time-Scale of 40-50 Years
• Indications for a slow rotator in the Rapid Burster from its thermonuclear bursting behaviour
• Thermonuclear X-ray Bursts with late secondary peaks observed from 4U 1608-52
• On the dependence of X-ray burst rate on accretion and spin rate
• The January 2016 eruption of recurrent nova LMC 1968
• Discovery of Extreme, Roughly-Daily Superflares on the Recurrent Nova V2487 Oph
• On the Dynamics of Ultra Compact X-ray Binaries: 4U 1850-087, 4U 0513-40 and M15 X-2
• A helium-burning white dwarf binary as a supersoft X-ray source
• Detection of millihertz quasi-periodic oscillations in the low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1730--22 with NICER
• Quasi-simultaneous Integral, Swift, And Nustar Observations Of The New X-ray Clocked Burster 1rxsj180408.9-342058
• Understanding superbursts
• HST FUV spectroscopy of the short orbital period recurrent nova CI Aql: Implications for white dwarf mass evolution
• M31N 2013-10c: A Newly Identified Recurrent Nova in M31
• A tentative 114-minute orbital period challenges the ultra-compact nature of the X-ray binary 4U 1812-12
• Discovery of millihertz Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in the Low Mass X-Ray Binary XTE J1701$-$462 from a Search of the RXTE Legacy data set
• Review of light curves of novae in the modified scales. I. Recurrent novae