Related papers: On Neutral Absorption and Spectral Evolution in X-…
We report on a pre-eclipse dip of the X-ray binary Her X-1 observed by the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) in July 1996. We present the evolution of the spectral parameters in the 3-18 keV range with a temporal resolution of 16 s and…
X-ray interaction with matter is an energy-dependent process that is contingent on the atomic structure of the constituent material elements. The most advanced models to capture this relationship currently rely on Monte Carlo (MC)…
X-ray luminosity function derived from observations of X-ray sources in galactic bulges can be explained by prinicipal evolutionary relations for mass accretion rate onto the compact object. The observed mean distribution of individual…
Normal galaxies are faint and complex X-ray sources that provide very powerful probes for fundamental astrophysical questions. Examples include: the study of populations of X-ray emitting sources; the study of the entire spectrum of…
Low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) have been studied in the Galaxy since the beginning of X-ray astronomy. A lot has been learned about these bright X-ray sources, but significant questions are still open. These questions are related to the…
We review recent results on populations of compact X-ray sources in normal galaxies. The luminosity distributions of low and high mass X-ray binaries in nearby galaxies appear to be described by the respective ``universal'' luminosity…
There exists a significant population of broad line, z~2 QSOs which have heavily absorbed X-ray spectra. Follow up observations in the submillimetre show that these QSOs are embedded in ultraluminous starburst galaxies, unlike most…
[abridged] We investigate the nature of the luminous X-ray source population detected in a (72 ks) Chandra ACIS-S observation of NGC 4038/39, the Antennae galaxies. We derive the average X-ray spectral properties of sources in different…
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…
Transient X-ray binaries remain in their quiescent state for a long time (months to hundred years) and then bright up as the most powerful sources of the X-ray sky. While it is clear that, when in outbursts, transient binaries are powered…
X-ray binaries, as bright local sources with short variability timescales for a wide range of accretion processes, represent ideal targets for high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy. In this chapter, we present a high-resolution X-ray spectral…
Neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries accrete via Roche-lobe overflow from a stellar companion that is $\lesssim$ 1 M$_{\odot}$. The accretion disk in these systems can be externally illuminated by X-rays that are reprocessed by the…
It has long been suggested that X-ray transients are produced at periastron of stellar-compact object binaries with eccentric orbits. Recoil of matter evaporated from the star by X-rays from matter transferred at periastron increases the…
We report on spectral and intensity variability analysis from a Chandra/ACIS-S observation of the transient, type-I X-ray bursting low-mass X-ray binary Cen X-4. The quiescent X-ray spectrum during this observation is statistically…
We discuss the constraints on the AGN evolution from the cosmic X-ray background and source counts. A synthesis model to fit the X-ray background is presented. In the model, the spectrum of type 2 AGN has been modeled including Compton…
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…
The synthesis model for the cosmic X-ray background (XRB) -based on the integrated emission of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs)- is complemented with new observational results. We adopt the most recent estimates of the AGN X-ray luminosity…
The X-ray spectra of some magnetized isolated neutron stars (NSs) show absorption features with equivalent widths (EWs) of 50 - 200 eV, whose nature is not yet well known. To explain the prominent absorption features in the soft X-ray…
The source GX 13+1 is a persistent, bright Galactic X-ray binary hosting an accreting neutron star. It shows highly ionized absorption features, with a blueshift of $\sim$ 400 km s$^{-1}$ and an outflow-mass rate similar to the accretion…
Symbiotic stars are binary systems where a white dwarf (WD) accretes material from the wind of an evolved, late-type companion. X-ray-emitting symbiotic systems are classified into $\alpha$, $\beta$, $\delta$, and $\beta/\delta$ types,…