An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

An object with technical designation MXB 17302335 which is characterized by erratic and extremely intense → X-ray emissions. The Rapid Burster is a → binary system comprising a → low-mass star as its → primary and a → secondary  → neutron star. The → gravitational attraction of the neutron star strips its → companion of some of its gas, which then forms an → accretion disk and spirals toward the neutron star. The Rapid Burster is located at a distance of 110 kpc in the highly reddened → globular cluster Liller 1. It is a → low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) and a recurrent → X-ray transient. So far less than 200 LMXBs have been detected in the → Galaxy and the → Magellanic Clouds. All produce a persistent flux of X-rays, the result of a release of → gravitational potential energy. Approximately 40 of them also exhibit → Type I bursts which are due to → thermonuclear flashes on the surface of a neutron star. The Rapid Burster is unique among the LMXBs in that it produces X-ray bursts in quick succession. These are called → Type II bursts, and they result from a spasmodic release of gravitational potential energy, which is due to some unknown → accretion disk instability (Lewin et al., 1996, ApJ 462, L39).

See also: → rapid; → burster.