Accretion rate and the occurrence of multi-peaked X-ray bursts

Abstract

Most Type I X-ray bursts from accreting neutron stars have a lightcurve with a single peak, but there is a rare population of faint bursts that are double or even triple peaked. Suggested mechanisms include polar ignition with equatorial stalling, or multi-step energy release; the latter being caused by hydrodynamic instabilities or waiting points in the nuclear reaction sequence. We present an analysis of the accretion rate dependence of the multi-peak bursts, and discuss the consequences for the various models. The observations pose particular challenges for the polar ignition mechanism given current models of ignition latitude dependence.

arXiv comment5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Letters

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• A very rare triple-peaked type-I X-ray burst in the low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1636-53
• Discovery of Thermonuclear Type-I X-ray Bursts from the X-ray binary MAXI J1807+132
• The study of multi-peaked type-I X-ray bursts in the neutron-star low mass X-ray binary 4U 1636$-$536 with RXTE
• The study of thermonuclear X-ray bursts in accreting millisecond pulsar MAXI J1816-195 with NuSTAR and NICER
• Probing thermonuclear bursts and X-ray reflection features in Aql X-1 during 2024 outburst