Related papers: Probing clumpy stellar winds with a neutron star
We report on the results of an XMM-Newton observation of the Supergiant Fast X-ray Transient (SFXT) IGR J08408-4503 performed in June 2020. The source is composed by a compact object (likely a neutron star) orbiting around an O8.5Ib-II(f)p…
High-mass microquasars are binary systems composed by a massive star and a compact object from which relativistic jets are launched. Regarding the companion star, observational evidence supports the idea that winds of hot stars are formed…
X-ray spectroscopy is a sensitive probe of stellar winds. X-rays originate from optically thin shock-heated plasma deep inside the wind and propagate outwards throughout absorbing cool material. Recent analyses of the line ratios from…
Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXT) are a class of High-Mass X-ray Binaries whose optical counterparts are O or B supergiant stars, and whose X-ray outbursts are ~ 4 orders of magnitude brighter than the quiescent state. LOFT, the Large…
We analyzed in a systematic way the public INTEGRAL observations spanning from December 2002 to September 2016, to investigate the hard X-ray properties of about 60 High Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs). We considered both persistent and…
We constructed the cumulative luminosity distributions of most supergiant fast X-ray transients (SFXTs) and the classical supergiant X-ray binary (SgXB) IGR J18027-2016 by taking advantage of the long term monitoring of these sources…
Neutron stars in high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs) generally accrete from the wind matter of their massive companion stars. Recently Shakura et al. (2012) suggested a subsonic accretion model for low-luminosity ($<4\times 10^{36}$…
Fast X-ray transients (FXTs) are flashes of X-rays that last for a few hundreds of seconds to a few hours. An enigmatic population of these transients that did not have a clear origin has been known for several decades, mostly found…
Supergiant high mass X-ray binaries (SGXBs) are believed to be rare objects, as stars in the supergiant phase have a very short lifetime and to date only about a dozen of them have been discovered. They are known to be persistent and bright…
Mass loss rates for the tenuous, hot winds of cool stars are extremely difficult to measure, yet they are a crucial ingredient in the stars' rotational evolution. We present a new method for measuring these mass loss rates in young,…
We have developed a clumpy stellar wind model for OB supergiants in order to compare predictions of this model with the X-ray behaviour of both classes of persistent and transient High Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs).
Observations of the high energy sky, mainly with the INTEGRAL satellite, have raised new questions about the formation and evolution of High Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs). The number of detected HMXBs of different types is now high enough to…
Inspired by the excess soft X-ray emission recently detected in Green Pea galaxies, we model the soft X-ray emission (0.5 - 2.0 keV) of hot gas from star cluster winds. By combining individual star clusters, we estimate the soft X-ray…
We have developed a stellar wind model for OB supergiants to investigate the effects of accretion from a clumpy wind on the luminosity and variability properties of High Mass X-ray Binaries. Assuming that the clumps are confined by ram…
We investigate the characteristics of bright flares for a sample of supergiant fast X-ray transients and their relation to the orbital phase. We have retrieved all Swift/BAT Transient Monitor light curves, and collected all detections in…
Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXTs) are a sub-class of High Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs) associated with OB supergiant companions and displaying transient X-ray activity. This behaviour is quite surprising since HMXBs hosting…
We present the results of a 30ks XMM-Newton observation of the supergiant fast X-ray transient (SFXT) SAX J1818.6-1703 - the first in-depth soft X-ray study of this source around periastron. INTEGRAL observations shortly before and after…
We present a new model of the population of symbiotic X-ray binaries (SyXBs) that takes into account non-stationary character of quasi-spherical sub-sonic accretion of the red giant's stellar wind onto slowly rotating neutron stars. Updates…
Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXTs) are a new class of HMXBs discovered thanks to the monitoring of the Galactic plane performed with the INTEGRAL satellite in the last 5 years. These sources display short outbursts (significantly…
The aim of this PhD Thesis is to characterize a representative sample of Supergiant X-ray Binaries (SGXBs) formed by 4 sources: XTE J1855-026, a classical SGXB with long-term stable X-ray flux; AX J1841.0-0535 and AX J1845.0-0433, two…