Related papers: RR-Lyrae-type pulsations from a 0.26-solar-mass st…
When low-mass ($\lesssim 2$ $M_{\odot}$) red giants lose their envelopes to a companion just before the helium flash, the resulting mass transfer can produce binaries hosting hot subdwarfs, horizontal branch stars, and undermassive red…
We show that tagging RR Lyrae stars according to their location in the period-amplitude diagram can be used to shed light on the genesis of the Galactic stellar halo. The mixture of RR Lyrae of ab type, separated into classes along the…
We report on the discovery of PSR J1141-6545, a radio pulsar in an eccentric, relativistic 5-hr binary orbit. The pulsar shows no evidence for being recycled, having pulse period P = 394 ms, characteristic age tau_c = 1.4 x 10^6 yr, and…
This thesis focuses on the study of binary radio pulsars, their evolution and some specific use of their properties to investigate fundamental physics such as general relativity and other gravitational theories. The work that we present…
As the RR Lyrae stars evolve on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram they are believed to become short period Type II Cepheids, known as BL Her type (with a pulsation period from $1$ to $3-8$ days). Assuming that their mass is around $0.5 - 0.6…
We present a search for RR Lyrae stars using the full six-year data set from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) covering ~5,000 sq. deg. of the southern sky. Using a multi-stage multi-variate classification and light curve template-fitting…
Stellar tidal streams provide an opportunity to study the motion and structure of the disrupting galaxy as well as the gravitational potential of its host. Streams around the Milky Way are especially promising as phase space positions of…
We have measured the times of onset of recent fadings in four R CrB stars -- V854 Cen, RY Sgr, R CrB, and S Aps. These times continue to be locked to the stars' pulsation periods, though with some scatter. In RY Sgr, the onsets of fading…
The maximum mass of a neutron star (NS) is poorly defined. Theoretical attempts to define this mass have thus far been unsuccessful. Observational results currently provide the only means of narrowing this mass range down. Eclipsing X-ray…
Additional low-amplitude signals are observed in many RR Lyrae stars, beside the pulsations in radial modes. The most common ones are short-period signals forming a period ratio of around 0.60--0.65 with the first overtone, or long-period…
A stellar common envelope occurs in a binary system when the atmosphere of an evolving star expands to encompass an orbiting companion object. Such systems are predicted to evolve rapidly, ejecting the stellar envelope and leaving the…
RR Lyrae stars (RRLs) are classical tracers of old stellar populations, yet growing evidence suggests the presence of a metal-rich ([Fe/H]>-0.5), intermediate-age (2-7 Gyr) sub-population in the Milky Way disc. Binary evolution,…
The grid of evolutionary tracks of population II stars with initial masses from $0.81M_\odot$ to $0.85M_\odot$ and chemical composition of the globular cluster M 3 is computed. Selected models of horizontal branch stars were used as initial…
Frequency analysis of more than 300 stars of the OGLE database on Sculptor galaxy has led to the discovery of 18 double-mode RR Lyrae (RRd) variables. This yields a 20% incidence rate for double-mode pulsation among the variables previously…
V1388 Ori is an early-B type detached eclipsing binary whose physical properties have previously been measured from dedicated spectroscopy and a ground-based survey light curve. We reconsider the properties of the system using…
We compute the spatial velocity components and the galactic orbital elements for 209 metal-poor $([Fe/H] < -1.0)$ RRLyrae (ab) variable stars in the solar neighborhood using proper motions, radial velocities, and photometric distances…
O- and B-type stars are often found in binary systems, but the low binary mass-ratio regime is relatively unexplored due to observational difficulties. Binary systems with low mass-ratios may have formed through fragmentation of the…
Pulsating stars in eclipsing binaries are very important to understand stellar interior structures through astroseismology because their absolute parameters such as the masses and radii can be determined in high precision based on…
We use deep multi-epoch near-IR images of the VISTA Variables in the V\'ia L\'actea (VVV) Survey to search for RR Lyrae stars towards the Southern Galactic plane. Here we report the discovery of a group of RR Lyrae stars close together in…
We analyse the OGLE-IV photometry of the first overtone and double-mode RR Lyrae stars (RRc/RRd) in the two fields towards the Galactic bulge observed with high cadence. In 27 per cent of RRc stars we find additional non-radial mode, with…