Probing Neutron Star LMXBs Using Bursts and QPOs

In the Low Mass X-ray Binary (LMXB) systems, neutron stars accrete matter via the accretion disk but the structure and physical properties of the accretion disk is not yet fully understood.  Understanding the structure of these accretion discs is important for understanding the accretion disc dynamics and other observational features used to infer about compact object physics and strong gravity. Reprocessing of X-rays, emitted from the central region, by the disk provides a handy tool for probing the accretion disk. Particularly, thermonuclear X-ray bursts originating from the neutron star surface acts as a efficient probe of the reprocessing. I will be talking about some previous works in regard to burst reprocessing, the existing questions and the model I am trying to develop to map the disk via burst reprocessing. The kHz QPOs have long been viewed as a promising tool to constrain the neutron star radius and probe strong gravity. I will be talking about an improved method I have used to obtain more accurate and unbiased QPO parameters and their evolution. The quality factor (a measure of the coherence time of the underlying oscillator) of the lower  kHz QPO drops off at higher frequencies and this has been hypothesized as a signature of the ISCO. I have tried to obtain a more accurate quality factor variation using this unbiased technique.
Finally, I will be talking a little about burst oscillations and how their amplitude evolution can be used to search for signatures of flame spreading during the rise of the thermonuclear burst.