Related papers: Orbital and superorbital variability and their cou…
We demonstrate that generically an accretion disk around a compact object could have a new type of instability in that the accretion flow need not be symmetric with respect to the equatorial plane even when matter is supplied symmetrically…
We comment on the recent observation of a 115-day modulation in the X-ray flux of the ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) NGC 5408 X-1, and in particular, the interpretation of this modulation as the orbital period. We suggest that this…
We describe here the nature, formation and evolution of the supergiant high mass X-ray binary (HMXB) population, i.e. systems accreting the stellar wind of supergiant stars. There are now many new observations, from the high-energy side…
Using archival RXTE data, we show that the ultracompact X-ray binary in NGC 1851 exhibits large amplitude X-ray flux varations of more than a factor of 10 on timescales of days to weeks and undergoes sustained periods of months where the…
We present the results of our monitoring program to study the long-term variability of the Halpha line in high-mass X-ray binaries. We have carried out the most complete optical spectroscopic study of the global properties of high-mass…
Recently, compact black hole X-ray binaries XTE J 1118+480 and A0620-00 have been reported to be experiencing a fast orbital period decay, which is two orders of magnitude higher than expected with gravitational wave radiation. Magnetic…
Most X-ray pulsars in high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB) systems exhibit both global and local trends of spin acceleration (spin-up) and deceleration (spin-down). Moreover, decades-long monitored objects display even more general spin-up trends…
We report on an observational campaign performed with Swift/XRT on the wind-fed supergiant X-ray binary 4U 1909+07 to investigate the nature of the orbital and superorbital modulation of its X-ray emission. A total of 137 XRT observations…
The mechanism that can be responsible for the bimodal luminosity distribution of super-Eddington X-ray pulsars in binary systems is pointed out. The transition from the high to low state of these objects is explained by accretion flow…
Recent X-ray observations have revealed the complexity and diversity of high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs). This diversity challenges a classical understanding of the accretion process onto the compact objects. In this study, we reinforce the…
We study multi-wavelength variability of a bare Seyfert 1 galaxy Fairall~9 using \swift{} monitoring observations consisting of $165$ usable pointings spanning nearly two years and covering six UV/optical bands and X-rays. Fairall~9 is…
Aims: We have developed a new code for the three-dimensional time-dependent raditation hydrodynamic simulation of the stellar wind in interacting binaries to improve models of accretion in high-mass X-ray binaries and to quantitatively…
The notion of source states characterizing the X-ray emission from black hole binaries has revealed to be a very useful tool to disentangle the complex spectral and aperiodic phenomenology displayed by those classes of accreting objects. We…
When the matter from a companion star is accreted towards the central compact accretor, i.e. a black hole (BH) or a neutron star (NS), an accretion disc and a jet outflow will form, providing bight X-ray and radio emission, which is known…
20 months of observations of the radio emission at 15 GHz from Cygnus X-1, starting in 1996 October, show variations at the binary period of 5.6 days, but with a phase offset from those at X-ray wavelengths. There are also longer-term…
High-mass X-ray binary systems are powered by the stellar wind of their donor stars. The X-ray state of Cygnus X-1 is correlated with the properties of the wind which defines the environment of mass accretion. Chandra-HETGS observations…
The high-mass X-ray binary SMC X-1 is an eclipsing binary with an orbital period of 3.89 d. This system exhibits a superorbital modulation with a period varying between ~40 d and ~65 d. The instantaneous frequency and the corresponding…
Accretion from a disk onto a collapsed, relativistic star -- a neutron star or black hole -- is the mechanism widely believed to be responsible for the emission from compact X-ray binaries. Because of the extreme spatial resolution…
This chapter discusses the implications of X-ray binaries on our knowledge of Type Ibc and Type II supernovae. X-ray binaries contain accreting neutron stars and stellar--mass black holes which are the end points of massive star evolution.…
Precessing accretion discs have long been suggested as explanations for the long periods observed in a variety of X-ray binaries, most notably Her X-1/HZ Her. We show that an instability of the disc's response to the radiation reaction…