Related papers: X-ray pulsars: a review
Be/X-ray binaries are the most numerous class of X-ray binaries. They constitute an excellent tracer of star formation and can be used to study several aspects of astrophysics, from mass loss in massive stars to binary evolution. This short…
Quasi-spherical subsonic accretion onto slowly rotating magnetized NS is considered, when the accreting matter settles down subsonically onto the rotating magnetosphere, forming an extended quasi-static shell. The shell mediates the angular…
The recent detection of pulsations from the ultra luminous X-ray source (ULX) NuSTAR J095551+6940.8 in M82 by Bachetti et al. indicates that the object is an accreting neutron star in a high mass X-ray binary (HMXB) system. The…
The observation of the x-ray pulse profile emitted by hotspots on the surface of neutron stars offers a unique tool to measure the bulk properties of these objects, including their masses and radii. The x-ray emission takes place at the…
X-ray binaries are binary star systems in which a compact object (a neutron star or a black hole) and a relatively normal star orbit a common centre of mass. Since the discovery of X-ray binaries with the first X-ray telescopes in the…
The X-ray emission of neutron stars enables a probe of their temperatures, geometries, and magnetospheric properties. The current number of X-ray emitting pulsars is insufficient to rule out observational biases that may arise from poorly…
Cyclotron resonant scattering features (CRSFs) are the absorption features in the X-ray spectra of strongly magnetized accretion neutron stars (NSs), which are probably the most reliable probe to the surface magnetic fields of NSs. The high…
4U 1700-37 is a wind-fed high-mass X-ray binary hosting a compact object, likely a neutron star, accreting from O6.5 Iaf+ supergiant HD 153919. Coherent pulsations not firmly detected; magnetic field strength remains uncertain. We analyze…
I review the energy spectra of low mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) containing weakly magnetized accreting neutron stars (NS), emphasizing the most recent broad band (0.1-200 keV) spectral and timing observations performed by Beppo-SAX and RXTE.…
The conventional picture of disk accretion onto magnetized neutron stars has been challenged by the spin changes observed in a few X-ray pulsars, and by theoretical results from numerical simulations of disk-magnetized star interactions.…
We analyse the most powerful X-ray outbursts from neutron stars in ten Magellanic high-mass X-ray binaries and three pulsating ultraluminous X-ray sources. Most of the outbursts rise to $L_{max}$ which is about the level of the Eddington…
A new window is opening in high-energy astronomy: X-ray polarimetry. With many missions currently under development and scheduled to launch as early as 2021, observations of the X-ray polarisation of accreting X-ray pulsars will soon be…
A review of basic properties of Be/X-ray binaries is presented. These systems (called also hard X-ray transients), which form the most numerous class of massive X-ray binaries in the Galaxy, are composed of Be stars and neutron stars (X-ray…
Many pulsars are formed with a binary companion from which they can accrete matter. Torque exerted by accreting matter can cause the pulsar spin to increase or decrease, and over long times, an equilibrium spin rate is achieved. Application…
Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are a population of extragalactic objects whose luminosity exceeds the Eddington limit for a 10 Msun black hole (BH). Their properties have been widely interpreted in terms of accreting stellar-mass or…
The X-ray binary system GX301-2 consists of a neutron star in an eccentric orbit accreting from the massive early-type star WRAY 977. It has previously been shown that the X-ray orbital light curve is consistent with existence of a gas…
Situation with highly magnetized neutron stars in binary systems is not yet certain. On the one hand, all best studied magnetars seem to be isolated objects. On the other, there are many claims based on model-dependent analysis of spin…
We investigate the evolution of the magnetic field of isolated pulsars and of neutron stars in different kinds of binary systems, assuming the field to be originally confined to the crust. Our results for the field evolution in isolated…
Rapidly rotating magnetic neutron stars in eccentric binary systems containing an early type star provide a unique opportunity to investigate the interplay between radio pulsar, stellar wind and accretion phenomena. We summarise the radio…
X-ray polarimetry promises to give qualitatively new information about high-energy sources. Examples of interesting source classes are binary black hole systems, rotation and accretion powered neutron stars, Microquasars, Active Galactic…