Mapping Neutron Stars with Type I X-ray Bursts

Thermonuclear flashes on accreting neutron stars, observed as Type I X-ray bursts, offer a powerful probe of the conditions inside the dense interior of the neutron star. We propose a combined observational and theoretical effort to understand the lightcurves, energetics and ignition conditions of long duration X-ray bursts, using them to measure the temperature of the neutron star interior, and to constrain the mass and radius of neutron stars from the spectrum of Type I X-ray bursts. These approaches give complementary information about the neutron star interior, constraining the uncertain physics of dense matter.