Next week I’m attending the AAS HEAD (high energy astrophysics division) meeting in Naples, FL, USA! My talk is on Monday April 4th at 4pm in the Stellar Compact I plenary session. I anticipate tweeting for at least a little of the meeting, so tweet back if you’ll be there! The hashtag for the meeting is #HEAD16.
I’m excited to be at CASCA at UBC this week! Follow the festivities on twitter with #cascaUBC. For those interested, my talk is Wednesday in Session 10 (Compact Objects) at ~11:15am in Hennings 202.
The equation of state for ultra-dense matter has puzzled astrophysicists for decades. This is because the conditions of ultra-dense matter, such as those found in neutron stars, are not terrestrially replicable. X-ray light curves from low-mass X-ray binary systems, with neutron star primaries, have proven to be useful tools in the study of the neutron star equation of state. Theory predicts that the X-ray light curve resulting from a Type I X-ray burst on the surface of a rapidly rotating neutron star can be used to determine the characteristics of the burst ignition spot and place constraints on the neutron star’s mass and radius. We discuss the development of spherical and oblate neutron star models that, providing parameter values, yield an X-ray light curve comparable to that which would be measured by an X-ray timing telescope like RXTE. This simulation code, used with a genetic fitting algorithm, will provide us with an opportunity to disentangle the effects of various aspects of the neutron star and hotspot on the outputted light curve, showing which parameter degeneracies will have the greatest impact on the observable.