Related papers: Thermal Timescale Mass Transfer Rates in Intermedi…
We study the formation of neon-enriched donor stars in ultracompact X-ray binaries (orbital periods P<80 min) and show that their progenitors have to be low-mass (0.3 - 0.4 solar mass) ``hybrid'' white dwarfs (with CO cores and thick helium…
In interacting binaries, comparison of a donor star's radial response to mass loss with the response of its Roche radius determines whether mass loss persists and, if so, determines the timescale and stability of the ensuing evolutionary…
A debate has arisen regarding the importance of stationary versus eruptive mass loss for massive star evolution. The reason is that stellar winds have been found to be clumped, which results in the reduction of unclumped empirical mass-loss…
We consider stable mass transfer from the secondary to the primary of an extreme mass ratio binary system. We show that when the mass transfer is sufficiently fast, mass leakage occurs through the outer Lagrange point L2, in addition to the…
In this chapter we give an overview of the properties of X-ray binary systems containing a weakly magnetized neutron star. These are old (Giga-years life-time) semi-detached binary systems containing a neutron star with a relatively weak…
We study the classical dynamics of a binary stars when there is an interchange of mass between them. Assuming that one of the star is more massive than the other, the dynamics of the lighter one is analyzed as a function of its time…
Ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are those X-ray sources located away from the centre of their host galaxy with luminosities exceeding the Eddington limit of a stellar-mass black hole ($L_X>10^{39}\;{\rm erg\,s}^{-1}$). The discovery of…
Ultra-compact X-ray binaries (UCXBs) are accreting systems with periods less than 1 hour, which qualifies them to contain a degenerate donor-companion. One would expect such systems to have the easiest theoretical explanation, compared to…
We study the spin evolution of X-ray neutron stars in binary systems, which are being spun up by mass transfer from accretion disks. Our investigation reveals that a quark phase transition resulting from the changing central density induced…
The evolution of accreting X-ray binary systems is closely coupled to the properties of their donor stars. As a result, we can constrain the evolutionary track a system is by establishing the nature of its donor. Here, we present far-UV…
We derive the theoretical distribution function of black hole masses by studying the formation processes of black holes. We use the results of recent 2D simulations of core-collapse to obtain the relation between remnant and progenitor…
The detected Gaia systems hosting compact objects challenge standard models of binary star evolution. In particular, if the observed black hole (BH) systems evolved in isolation, they are expected to have undergone a mass transfer phase.…
We resume the discussion about irradiation-driven mass transfer cycles in semi- detached compact binary systems. The analytical model that describes the onset of these cycles, which occur on a thermal timescale of the donor star, is…
W UMa type binaries have two defining characteristics. These are (i) the effective temperatures of both components are very similar, and (ii) the secondary (currently less massive) component is overluminous for its current mass. We consider…
Neutron stars in X-ray binary systems are fascinating objects that display a wide range of timing and spectral phenomena in the X-rays. Not only parameters of the neutron stars, like magnetic field strength and spin period evolve in their…
In this proof-of-concept study we demonstrate that in a binary system mass can be transferred toward an accreting compact object at extremely high rate. If the transferred mass is efficiently converted to X-ray luminosity (with disregard of…
Context. The wind mass transfer from a giant to its white dwarf companion in symbiotic binaries is not well understood. For example, the efficiency of wind mass transfer of the canonical Bondi-Hoyle accretion mechanism is too low to power…
We explore the population of candidate pre-low-mass X-ray binaries in which a neutron star accretes mass from the wind of a low-mass companion (mass < 2Msun) in the framework of a binary population synthesis study. The simulated…
New high resolution, optical spectroscopy of the high mass X-ray binary LMC X-3, shows the spectral type of the donor star changes with phase due to irradiation by the X-ray source. We find the spectral type is likely to be B5V, and only…
We describe the evolution of double degenerate binary systems, consisting of components obeying the zero temperature mass radius relationship for white dwarf stars, from the onset of mass transfer to one of several possible outcomes…