Related papers: The progenitor of a type Ia supernova with a short…
PSR J1713+0747 is a binary system comprising millisecond radio pulsar with a spin period of 4.57 ms, and a low-mass white dwarf (WD) companion orbiting the pulsar with a period of 67.8 days. Using the general relativistic Shapiro delay, the…
We present an analysis of the close double degenerate NLTT 12758, which is comprised of a magnetic white dwarf with a field of about 3.1 MG and an apparently non-magnetic white dwarf. We measured an orbital period of 1.154 days and found…
Close binaries consisting of a main sequence star and a white dwarf are considered as candidates for Type~Ia supernova progenitors. We present selfconsistent calculations of the time dependence of the structure of the main sequence star,…
We present optical and X-ray observations of two tidally distorted, extremely low-mass white dwarfs (WDs) with massive companions. There is no evidence of neutron stars in our Chandra and XMM observations of these objects. SDSS…
We report photometry of 1RXS J232953.9+062814, a recently discovered dwarf nova with a remarkably short 64.2-minute orbital period. In quiescence, the star's light curve is that of a double sinusoid, arising from the "ellipsoidal"…
Today, Type Ia supernovae are essential tools for cosmology, and recognized as major contributors to the chemical evolution of galaxies. The construction of detailed supernova progenitor models, however, was so far prevented by various…
Virtually all binaries consisting of a white dwarf with a non-degenerate companion can be classified as either close post-interaction systems (with orbital periods of a few days or less), or wide systems (with periods longer than decades),…
Binaries consisting of a hot subdwarf star and an accreting white dwarf (WD) are sources of gravitational wave radiation at low frequencies and possible progenitors of type Ia supernovae if the WD mass is large enough. Here, we report the…
MAXI J1659-152 is a bright X-ray transient black-hole candidate binary system discovered in September 2010. We report here on MAXI, RXTE, Swift, and XMM-Newton observations during its 2010/2011 outburst. We find that during the first one…
Many white dwarfs are observed in compact double white dwarf binaries and, through the emission of gravitational waves, a large fraction are destined to merge. The merger remnants that do not explode in a Type Ia supernova are expected to…
Ultra-short period compact binaries are important sources of gravitational waves, which include e.g. the progenitors of type Ia supernovae or the progenitors of merger episodes that may lead to massive and magnetic single white dwarfs.…
We present the discovery of a new double detonation progenitor system consisting of a hot subdwarf B (sdB) binary with a white dwarf companion with an P=76.34179(2) min orbital period. Spectroscopic observations are consistent with an sdB…
Subluminous Type Ia supernovae, such as the Type Iax class prototype SN 2002cx, are described by a variety of models such as the failed detonation and partial deflagration of an accreting carbon-oxygen white dwarf star, or the explosion of…
HD188112 is an extremely low mass white dwarf in a close binary system. According to a previous study, the mass of HD188112 is $\sim$0.24 Msun and a lower limit of 0.73 Msun could be put for the mass of its unseen companion, a compact…
HD~69479/80 is a composite-spectrum binary whose components are a late-G giant and an early-A dwarf. The orbit has a period of only 91 days (which seems short for a system containing a cool giant with a radius of $\sim$13 solar radii), and…
We have discovered a detached pair of white dwarfs (WDs) with a 12.75 min orbital period and a 1,315 km/s radial velocity amplitude. We measure the full orbital parameters of the system using its light curve, which shows ellipsoidal…
Following the detection of a bright new X-ray source, MAXI J1659-152, a series of observations was triggered with almost all currently flying high-energy missions. We report here on XMM-Newton, INTEGRAL and RXTE observations during the…
SDSSJ125733.63+542850.5 (hereafter SDSSJ1257+5428) is a compact white dwarf binary from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey that exhibits high-amplitude radial velocity variations on a period of 4.56 hours. While an initial analysis suggested the…
We analyze the evolution of binary stars to calculate synthetic rates and delay times of the most promising Type Ia Supernovae progenitors. We present and discuss evolutionary scenarios in which a white dwarf reaches the Chandrasekhar-mass…
We report the discovery of 1RXH J082623.6-505741, a 10.4 hr orbital period compact binary. Modeling extensive optical photometry and spectroscopy reveals a $\sim 0.4 M_{\odot}$ K-type secondary transferring mass through a low-state…