Thermonuclear Burst Observations for Model Comparisons: A Reference Sample

A sample of burst light curves of thermonuclear (type-I) X-ray bursts, selected for comparison with numerical models. Provided are examples of four distinct cases of thermonuclear ignition: He-ignition in mixed H/He fuel (case 1); He-ignition in pure He fuel, following exhaustion of accreted H by steady burning (case 2); ignition in (almost) pure He accumulated from an evolved donor in an ultracompact system; and an example of a superburst, thought to arise from ignition of a layer of carbon fuel produced as a by-product of more frequent bursts. The burst light curves have been calculated from time-resolved spectroscopic analysis of Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer observations, and include the estimated bolometric flux, blackbody temperature, and normalisation. The companion table lists the estimated recurrence time, fluence, and peak flux, the persistent flux level (and inferred accretion rate) as well as the ratio of persistent flux to fluence.