1996/04/16 by D. Q. Lamb, M. Coleman Miller, Lamb, D. Q. +3
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomical Observations and Instrumentation #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/9604089
10 pages, plain TeX, submitted on February 9 to ApJ Letters
arxiv created 1996/04/16 · openalex publication_date 1996/04/16 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We argue that the bursting, transient X-ray source GRO J1744-28 is a binary consisting of a very low-mass (M ≈ 0.2 M_\sun), highly evolved giant star that is transferring mass by Roche lobe overflow onto a high-mass (M ≈ 1.8 M_\sun) neutron star. We explore a picture in which the bursts are due to thermonuclear flashes in matter that has accreted onto the neutron star. We attribute the unusually hard spectra of the bursts and the high burst rate compared to normal Type I X-ray burst sources -- indeed the existence of unstable nuclear burning itself -- to the unusually strong surface magnetic field, Bs ≈ 1 × 1013 G, of the neutron star.