On the Nature of Neutron Stars in Accreting Systems

Neutron stars, the dense remnants of dead stars, are unique laboratories of fundamental physics. Isolated neutron stars are hard to find, but neutron stars with binary companions may emit X-rays due to the supply of gas from the other star. This high-energy radiation enables us to detect them with telescopes. Such “accreting” neutron stars give us direct information from the extremes of physics: from the densest matter known, through nuclear reactions in energetic environments, to how material moves in strong magnetic and gravitational fields. This research aims to further understand accreting neutron star systems by using computer models and observations.