Explosive thermonuclear processes on white dwarfs and neutron stars

produce novae and bursters.

Still other exotic phenomena occur when a stellar corpse is part of a close
binary system. One example is a nova (plural novae), in which a faint star
suddenly brightens by a factor of 104 to 108 over a few days or hours,
reaching a peak luminosity of about 105 L. By contrast, a supernova has a
peak luminosity of about 109 L.

A novas abrupt rise in brightness is followed by a gradual decline that may

stretch out over several months or more. Every year two or three novae are
seen in our Galaxy and several dozen more are thought to take place in
remote regions of the Galaxy that are obscured from our view by interstellar
dust.

Novae and White Dwarfs.

In the 1950s, painstaking observations of numerous novae by Robert Kraft,

Merle Walker, and their colleagues at the University of Californias Lick
Observatory led to the conclusion that all novae are members of close
binary systems containing a white dwarf. Gradual mass transfer from the
ordinary companion star,
which presumably fills its Roche lobe, deposits fresh hydrogen onto the
white dwarf.

Because of the white dwarfs strong gravity, this hydrogen is compressed

into a dense layer covering the hot surface of the white dwarf. As more gas
is deposited and compressed, the temperature in the hydrogen layer
increases. When the temperature reaches about 107 K, hydrogen fusion
ignites throughout the gas layer, embroiling the white dwarfs surface in a
thermonuclear holocaust that we see as a nova.

It is important to understand the similarities and differences between novae

and the thermonuclear (Type Ia) supernovae. The difference is thought to
be that in a Type Ia supernova, the white dwarf accretes much more mass
from its companion. This added mass causes so much compression that
nuclear reactions can take place inside the white dwarf. Eventually, these
reactions blow the white dwarf completely apart. In a nova, by contrast,
nuclear reactions occur only within the accreted material. The reaction is
more sedate because it takes place only on the white dwarfs surface
(perhaps because the accretion rate is less or because the white dwarf had
less mass in the first place).
Because the white dwarf itself survives a nova explosion, it is possible for the
same star to undergo more than one nova. As an example, the star RS
Ophiuchi erupted as a nova in 1898, then put in repeat performances in
1933, 1958, 1967, 1985, and 2006. By contrast, a given star can only be a
supernova once.

X-ray Bursters and Neutron Stars

A surface explosion similar to a nova also occurs with neutron stars. In 1975 it
was discovered that some objects in the sky emit sudden, powerful bursts of
X rays. The source emits X rays at a constant low level until suddenly, without
warning, there is an abrupt increase in X rays, followed by a gradual
decline.

An entire burst typically lasts for only 20 s. Unlike pulsating X-ray sources,
there is a fairly long interval of hours or days between bursts, and the bursts
dont repeat at regular intervals. Sources that behave in this fashion are
known as X-ray bursters. Several dozen X-ray bursters have been discovered
in our Galaxy.

X-ray bursters, like novae, are thought to involve close binaries whose stars
are engaged in mass transfer. With a burster, however, the stellar corpse is a
neutron star rather than a white dwarf. Gases escaping from the ordinary
companion star fall onto the neutron star. The X-ray bursters magnetic field
is probably not strong enough to funnel the falling material toward the
magnetic poles, so the gases are distributed more evenly over the surface
of the neutron star. The energy released as these gases crash down onto
the neutron stars surface produces the low-level X rays that are
continuously emitted by the burster.
Most of the gas falling onto the neutron star is hydrogen, which the stars
powerful gravity compresses against its hot surface. In fact, temperatures
and pressures in this accreting layer become so high that the arriving
hydrogen is converted into helium by hydrogen fusion. As a result, the
accreted gases develop a layered structure that covers the entire neutron
star, with a few tens of centimeters of hydrogen lying atop a similar
thickness of helium. The structure is reminiscent of the layers within an
evolved star, although the layers atop a neutron star are much more
compressed, thanks to the stars tremendous surface gravity.
When the helium layer is about 1 m thick, helium fusion ignites explosively
and heats the neutron stars surface to about 3x107 K. Whereas explosive
hydrogen fusion on a white dwarf produces a nova, explosive helium fusion
on a neutron star produces an X-ray burster. In both cases, the process is
explosive, because the fuel is compressed so tightly against the stars
surface that it becomes degenerate, like the star itself. As with the helium
flash inside red giants, the ignition of a degenerate thermonuclear fuel
involves a sudden thermal runaway. This is because an increase in
temperature does not produce a corresponding increase in pressure that
would otherwise relieve compression of the gases and slow the nuclear
reactions.

Be careful not to confuse X-ray bursters with magnetars, which are also
neutron stars that emit powerful bursts of X rays. An X-ray burster is a
member of a binary system that accretes matter from its companion star,
then releases nuclear energy when the accreted matter undergoes
thermonuclear reactions. By contrast, a burst from a magnetar is a release
of magnetic energy stored in its extraordinarily powerful field; no
thermonuclear reactions are involved, and no accretion from a companion
star is required.

There is also a huge difference in the strength and duration of the two kinds
of burst. An X-ray burster releases about 1032 joules in a typical 20-second
burst, while a magnetar burst can release more than 1039 joules of X-ray and
gamma-ray radiation in a mere 0.2 second.

One of the great puzzles in modern astronomy has been the nature of an
even more remarkable class of events called gamma ray bursters. As the
name suggests, these objects emit sudden, intense bursts of high-energy
gamma rays. During the short duration of its burst, a gamma-ray burster can
be 106 to 109 times brighter than a supernova at the same distance!

Like a white dwarf, a neutron star has an upper limit on its mass

A white dwarf will collapse if its mass is greater than the Chandrasekhar limit
of 1.4 M. At that point, degenerate electron pressure cannot support the
overpowering weight of the stars matter, which presses inward from all
sides. The mass of a neutron star also has an upper limit. However, the
pressure within a neutron star is harder to analyze, because it comes from
two sources. One is the degenerate nature of the neutrons, and the other is
the strong nuclear force that acts between the neutrons themselves.
The strong nuclear force is what holds protons and neutrons together in
atomic nuclei. Neutrons exert strong nuclear forces on one another only
when they are almost touching. This force behaves somewhat like the force
that billiard balls exert on one another when they touch: It strongly resists
further compression. (Try squeezing two billiard balls together and see how
much success you have.) Hence, the strong nuclear force is a major
contributor to the stars internal pressure. Unfortunately, there is a good deal
of uncertainty about the details of this force. This uncertainty translates into
uncertainties about how much weight the neutron stars internal pressure
can supportthat is, the neutron stars maximum mass. Theoretical
estimates of this maximum mass range from 2 to 3 M.
Before pulsars were discovered, most astronomers believed all dead stars
to be white dwarfs. Dying stars were thought to somehow eject enough
material so that their corpses could be below the Chandrasekhar limit. The
discovery of neutron stars proved this idea incorrect. Inspired by this lesson,
astronomers soon began wondering what might happen if a dying massive
star failed to eject enough matter to get below the upper limit for a neutron
star. For example, what might a 5-M stellar corpse be like?

The gravity associated with a neutron star is so strong that the escape
speed from it is roughly one-half the speed of light. But if a stellar corpse has
a mass greater than 3 M, so much matter is crushed into such a small
volume that the escape speed actually exceeds the speed of light.
Because nothing can travel faster than light, nothingnot even lightcan
leave this dead star. Its gravity is so powerful that it leaves a hole in the
fabric of space and time. Thus, the discovery of neutron stars inspired
astrophysicists to examine seriously one of the most bizarre and fantastic
objects ever predicted by modern science, the black hole.

Key Ideas:

Neutron Stars: A neutron star is a dense stellar corpse consisting primarily of

closely packed degenerate neutrons.

A neutron star typically has a diameter of about 20 km, a mass less

than 3 M, a magnetic field 1012 times stronger than that of the Sun,
and a rotation period of roughly 1 second.
A neutron star consists of a superfluid, superconducting core
surrounded by a superfluid mantle and a thin, brittle crust.
Intense beams of radiation emanate from regions near the north and
south magnetic poles of a neutron star. These beams are produced
by streams of charged particles moving in the stars intense magnetic
field.

Pulsars: A pulsar is a source of periodic pulses of radio radiation. These

pulses are produced as beams of radio waves from a neutron stars
magnetic poles sweep past Earth.

The pulse rate of many pulsars is slowing steadily. This reflects the
gradual slowing of the neutron stars rotation as it radiates energy into
space. Sudden speedups of the pulse rate, called glitches, may be
caused by interactions between the neutron stars crust and its
superfluid interior.

Magnetars: A magnetar is a pulsar with an extraordinarily strong magnetic

field. This field is produced by convection inside the pulsar when it first forms.
 The solid crust of a magnetar is under tremendous magnetic stress.
When the surface rearranges in a starquake, the released magnetic
energy produces a powerful burst of X-rays and gamma rays.

Neutron Stars in Close Binary Systems: If a neutron star is in a close binary

system with an ordinary star, tidal forces will draw gas from the ordinary star
onto the neutron star.

The transfer of material onto the neutron star can make it rotate
extremely rapidly, giving rise to a millisecond pulsar.
Magnetic forces can funnel the gas onto the neutron stars magnetic
poles, producing hot spots. These hot spots then radiate intense
beams of X rays. As the neutron star rotates, the X-ray beams appear
to flash on and off. Such a system is called a pulsating X-ray variable.

Novae and Bursters: Material from an ordinary star in a close binary can fall
onto the surface of the companion white dwarf or neutron star to produce
a surface layer in which thermonuclear reactions can explosively ignite.

Explosive hydrogen fusion may occur in the surface layer of a

companion white dwarf, producing the sudden increase in luminosity
that we call a nova. The peak luminosity of a nova is only 10-4 of that
observed in a supernova.
Explosive helium fusion may occur in the surface layer of a
companion neutron star. This produces a sudden increase in X-ray
radiation, which we call a burster.

BIOLOGY