X-ray bursting neutron star atmosphere models: spectra and color corrections

Understand

X-ray bursting neutron stars in low mass X-ray binaries constitute an appropriate source class to constrain masses and radii of neutron stars, but a sufficiently extended set of corresponding model atmospheres is necessary for these investigations.

• We computed such a set of model atmospheres and emergent spectra in a plane-parallel, hydrostatic, and LTE approximation with Compton scattering taken into account.
• The models were calculated for six different chemical compositions: pure hydrogen and pure helium atmospheres, and atmospheres with solar mix of hydrogen and helium, and various heavy element abundances Z = 1, 0.3, 0.1, and 0.01 Z_sun.
• For each chemical composition the models are computed for three values of surface gravity, log g =14.0, 14.3, and 14.6, and for 20 values of the luminosity in units of the Eddington luminosity, L/L_Edd, in the range 0.001--0.98.