We have followed the thermonuclear runaways which develop in the hydrogen-rich envelopes of 0.476 and 1.41 solar mass neutron stars. Variations in the neutron star luminosity, CNO abundance of the accreted material, and mass accretion rate have been explored. In all cases, the thermonuclear shell flash led to high envelope temperatures approximately greater than 700 million K and to the emission of an X-ray burst. Large variations in burst characteristics are found. In particular, the computed rise times range from 0.1 to 30 sec, the e-folding decay time scales range from 0.5 to 100 sec, and the total burst energies range from 0.4 to 4 x 10 to the 39th ergs. Due to the uncertainty associated with the thermal state of the accreted envelope, the mass determination of the neutron star based on a comparison of temporal profile of computed and observed X-ray bursts is inconclusive.
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R. E. Taam (1980) studied this question.