Related papers: Spitzer Space Telescope Observations of Low Mass X…

We describe spectroscopic observations of 21 low-mass (<0.45 M_sun) white dwarfs (WDs) from the Palomar-Green Survey obtained over four years. We use both radial velocities and infrared photometry to identify binary systems, and find that…

We present preliminary results on Herschel/PACS mid/far-infrared photometric observations of INTEGRAL supergiant High Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs), with the aim of detecting the presence and characterizing the nature of absorbing material…

A generic feature of weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter models is the emission of photons over a broad energy band resulting from the stable yields of dark matter pair annihilation. Inverse Compton scattering off cosmic…

In this paper we present Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph spectroscopy for 14 intermediate-mass young stellar objects. We use Spitzer spectroscopy to investigate the physical properties of these sources and their environments. Our sample can…

This review summarizes the observational constraints on the mass spectrum of compact objects in X-ray binaries. We currently have 20 X-ray binaries with confirmed black holes, based on dynamical information (i.e. mass in excess of 3 Msun).…

Context: The INTEGRAL hard X-ray observatory has revealed an emerging population of highly obscured X-ray binary systems through multi-wavelength observations. Previous studies have shown that many of these sources are high-mass X-ray…

We present a new edition of the catalogue of the low-mass X-ray binaries in the Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds. The catalogue contains source name(s), coordinates, finding chart, X-ray luminosity, system parameters, and stellar parameters…

Time-resolved optical and infrared polarimetric observations of black hole and neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries are presented. Data were acquired with the VLT, UKIRT and HIPPO on the SAAO 1.9-m. We find that for some sources in…

The scientific aim of the space gravitational wave (GW) detector Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) that was scheduled to launch in the early 2030s is to detect the low-frequency GW signals in the Galaxy. Its main candidate GW…

We report on the results from our search for the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer detection of the Galactic low-mass X-ray binaries. Among 187 binaries catalogued in Liu et al. (2007), we find 13 counterparts and two candidate…

In X-ray binary star systems consisting of a compact object that accretes material from an orbiting secondary star, there is no straightforward means to decide if the compact object is a black hole or a neutron star. To assist this…

The masses of compact objects like white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes are fundamental to astrophysics, but very difficult to measure. We present the results of an analysis of subluminous B (sdB) stars in close binary systems with…

In our Spitzer 24 \mu m survey of hot white dwarfs (WDs) and archival Spitzer study of pre-WDs, i.e., central stars of planetary nebulae (CSPNs), we found mid-IR excesses for -15 WDs/pre-WDs. These mid-IR excesses are indicative of the…

The masses of compact objects like white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes are fundamental to astrophysics, but very difficult to measure. We present the results of an analysis of subluminous B (sdB) stars in close binary systems with…

High mass X-ray binaries are among the brightest X-ray sources in the Milky Way, as well as in nearby Galaxies. Thanks to their highly variable emissions and complex phenomenology, they have attracted the interest of the high energy…

We report the detection and mass measurement of a binary lens OGLE-2015-BLG-1285La,b, with the more massive component having $M_1>1.35\,M_\odot$ (80% probability). A main-sequence star in this mass range is ruled out by limits on blue…

Low-mass white dwarfs can either be produced in low-mass X-ray binaries by stable mass transfer to a neutron star, or in a common-envelope phase with a heavier white dwarf companion. We have searched 8 low-mass white dwarf candidates…

We report on recent progress in our theoretical understanding of X-ray binaries, which has largely been driven by new observations, and illustrate the interplay between theory and observations considering as examples intermediate-mass X-ray…

This paper presents combined ${\it Spitzer}$ IRAC and ${\it Hubble}$ COS results for a double-blind survey of 195 single and 22 wide binary white dwarfs for infrared excesses and atmospheric metals. The selection criteria include cooling…

IR excesses of white dwarfs (WDs) can be used to diagnose the presence of low-mass companions, planets, and circumstellar dust. Using different combinations of wavelengths and WD temperatures, circumstellar dust at different radial…