We report the detection of 15 X-ray bursts with RXTE and Swift observations of the peculiar X-ray binary Circinus X-1 during its May 2010 X-ray re-brightening. These are the first X-ray bursts observed from the source after the initial discovery by T
ennant and collaborators, twenty-five years ago. By studying their spectral evolution, we firmly identify nine of the bursts as type I (thermonuclear) X-ray bursts. We obtain an arcsecond location of the bursts that confirms once and for all the identification of Cir X-1 as a type I X-ray burst source, and therefore as a low magnetic field accreting neutron star. The first five bursts observed by RXTE are weak and show approximately symmetric light curves, without detectable signs of cooling along the burst decay. We discuss their possible nature. Finally, we explore a scenario to explain why Cir X-1 shows thermonuclear bursts now but not in the past, when it was extensively observed and accreting at a similar rate.
We report the discovery of burst oscillations at the spin frequency in ten thermonuclear bursts from the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar (AMXP) IGR J17511-3057. The burst oscillation properties are, like those from the persistent AMXPs SAX J1808.4
-3658 and XTE J1814-338, anomalous compared to burst oscillations from intermittent pulsars or non-pulsing LMXBs. Like SAX J1808.4-3658 they show frequency drifts in the rising phase rather than the tail. There is also evidence for harmonic content. Where IGR J17511-3057 is unusual compared to the other two persistent pulsars is that oscillations are not detected throughout all bursts. As accretion rate drops the bursts get brighter and their rise/decay time scales become shorter, while the oscillation amplitude falls below the detection threshold: first in the burst peak and then also in the rise. None of the bursts from IGR J17511-3057 show evidence for photospheric radius expansion (which might be expected to suppress oscillation amplitude) which allow us to set an upper limit to the distance of 6.9 kpc. We discuss the implications of our results for models of the burst oscillation mechanism.
