Jean in't Zand (SRON) - X-ray bursts

X-ray bursts originate on neutron stars and are thermonuclear shell flashes of hydrogen and
helium, sometimes also carbon, accrted from a companion star. Althought short (most less
than 1 min), they are bright, easily reaching the Eddington limit, and thus can provide a
powerful diagnostic of the densest form of matter. They are of prime interest to the LOFT
community. Although first detected 4 decades ago and basically understood since 3 decades,
much has been learned in the past decade through observations with RXTE, BeppoSAX and
INTEGRAL. Most importantly this entails burst oscillations, superbursts and intermediate
duration bursts. A review will be given that includes the most pressing questions about X-ray
bursts today and the promise that LOFT, both LAD and WFM, holds for answering those. These
questions relate to issues such as the ignition conditions for superbursts, the origin of burst
oscillations, the internal constitution of neutron stars (in particular the crust), nuclear burning
and the accretion flow.