High-energy probes of dense matter and distorted spacetime

Neutron stars can serve as laboratories for studies of matter at super-nuclear densities and tests for theories of gravity, not possible elsewhere in the universe. This project is founded on a unique observational program which exploits the majority of X-ray bursts ever detected by satellite-based X-ray observatories. Using these data I will measure the properties of neutron stars (mass, radius) and hence constrain the composition, which remains highly uncertain. I will also exploit the burst properties to make consistency tests of general relativity in the strong-field limit. This study has the potential to make a significant contribution to the state of knowledge of the fundamental behaviour of space, time and matter.