English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

When a neutron star accretes matter from a companion star in a low-mass X-raybinary, the accreted gas settles onto the stellar surface through aboundary/spreading layer. On rare occasions the accumulated gas undergoes apowerful thermonuclear superburst powered by carbon burning deep below theneutron star atmosphere. In this paper, we apply the non-negative matrixfactorization spectral decomposition technique to show that the spectralvariations during a superburst from 4U 1636-536 can be explained by twodistinct components: 1) the superburst emission characterized by a variabletemperature black body radiation component, and 2) a quasi-Planckian componentwith a constant, $\sim$2.5 keV, temperature varying by a factor of $\sim$15 influx. The spectrum of the quasi-Planckian component is identical in shape andcharacteristics to the frequency-resolved spectra observed in theaccretion/persistent spectrum of neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries, andagrees well with the predictions of the spreading layer model by Inogamov &Sunyaev (1999). Our result is yet another observational evidence thatsuperbursts - and possibly also normal X-ray bursts - induce changes in thedisc-star boundary.

Evidence of spreading layer emission in thermonuclear superbursts