Many neutron stars reside in X-ray binaries, where they pull off and consume matter from a companion star. As the accreted material accumulates on the surface of the neutron star, the temperature and pressure rise, what can eventually lead to a gigantic explosion: a thermonuclear X-ray burst. These are very energetic, bright flashes of X-ray emission that can last from a few seconds to a few hours. These are a unique characteristic of neutron stars.

NASA’s Swift satellite carries instruments that can detect X-ray, ultra-violet and optical emission from astronomical objects. In addition, it is equipped with a Burst Alert Telescope (BAT). This instrument has a very wide field of view of about 2 steradians and monitors a large part of the sky with the aim to detect (rare) energetic events. The BAT has proven to be an very suitable instrument to detect thermonuclear X-ray bursts from accreting neutron stars.

Some neutron stars display X-ray bursts only very rarely (maybe only once every year). These events can be easily missed, so that the neutron star can remain hidden for a very long time. Indeed, Swift’s BAT has detected several thermonuclear X-ray bursts from previously unknown X-ray sources. In some cases, the BAT picked up an X-ray burst from an X-ray sources that had been discovered before, but was not known to harbor a neutron star. At present, approximately 100 X-ray bursting neutron stars are known (see this list of Galactic X-ray bursters and the MINBAR catalog for overviews). A significant fraction of these (about 10) have been discovered by the Swift satellite.

In 2011 and 2012, the BAT helped identify four new neutron stars via the detection of their thermonuclear X-ray bursts.

Degenaar, Altamirano, Wijnands 2012, Astronomer’s Telegram 4219: IGR J17062-6143 is likely a bursting neutron star low-mass X-ray binary

Paper link: ADS

Degenaar, Wijnands, Reynolds et al. 2014, ApJ 792, 109: The Peculiar Galactic Center Neutron Star X-Ray Binary XMM J174457-2850.3

Paper link: ADS

Degenaar, Linares, Altamirano, Wijnands 2012, ApJ 759, 8: Two New Bursting Neutron Star Low-mass X-Ray Binaries: Swift J185003.2-005627 and Swift J1922.7-1716

Paper link: ADS