Related papers: Swinging between rotation and accretion power in a…
The detection, in 1998, of the first Accreting Millisecond Pulsar, started an exciting season of continuing discoveries in the fashinating field of compact binary systems harbouring a neutron star. Indeed, in these last three lustres,…
Compact binary millisecond pulsars with main-sequence donors, often referred to as "redbacks", constitute the long-sought link between low-mass X-ray binaries and millisecond radio pulsars, and offer a unique probe of the interaction…
We present the discovery of 163.65 Hz X-ray pulsations from IGR J17062-6143 in the only observation obtained from the source with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. This detection makes IGR J17062-6143 the lowest-frequency accreting…
Basic ideas about the torques on the neutron star and the existence of an equilibrium rotation period followed from the recognition that most X-ray binaries contain accretion powered neutron stars. The evolution of binaries through a phase…
We report on observations of the unusual neutron-star binary system FIRST J102347.6+003841 carried out using the XMM-Newton satellite. This system consists of a radio millisecond pulsar in an 0.198-day orbit with a ~0.2 solar-mass…
IGR J06074+2205 is a poorly studied X-ray source with a Be star companion. It has been proposed to belong to the group of Be/X-ray binaries. In Be/X-ray binaries, accretion onto the neutron star occurs via the transfer of material from the…
The twelfth accretion-powered millisecond pulsar, IGR J17511-3057, was discovered in September 2009. In this work we study its spectral and timing properties during the 2009 outburst based on Swift and RXTE data. Our spectral analysis of…
The recent discovery of a milli-second radio pulsar experiencing an accretion outburst similar to those seen in low mass X-ray binaries, has opened up a new opportunity to investigate the evolutionary link between these two different…
PSR J1744-3922 is a binary pulsar exhibiting highly variable pulsed radio emission. We report on a statistical multi-frequency study of the pulsed radio flux variability which suggests that this phenomenon is extrinsic to the pulsar and…
At present, ten years after they were first discovered, ten accreting millisecond pulsars are known. I present a study of the aperiodic X-ray variability in three of these systems, which led to the discovery of simultaneous kHz quasi…
I review the properties of three X-ray accreting millisecond pulsars observed with INTEGRAL. Out of seven recently discovered accretion-powered pulsars (one discovered by INTEGRAL), three were observed with the INTEGRAL satellite up to 300…
The results of the broadband spectral and timing study of the recently discovered transient X-ray pulsar MAXI J0903-531 in a wide range of luminosities differing by a factor of ~30 are reported. The observed X-ray spectrum in both states…
IGR J17511-3057 is the second X-ray transient accreting millisecond pulsar discovered by INTEGRAL. It was in outburst for about a month from September 13, 2009. The broad-band average spectrum is well described by thermal Comptonization…
XSS J12270-4859 (henceforth J12270) is the first low-mass X-ray binary to exhibit a transition, taking place at the end of 2012, from an X-ray active state to a radio pulsar state. The X-ray emission based on archival XMM-Newton…
We present a timing analysis of the 2009 outburst of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar Swift J1756.9-2508, and a re-analysis of the 2007 outburst. The source shows a short recurrence time of only ~2 years between outbursts. Thanks to…
The accreting millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658 may be a transition object between accreting X-ray binaries and millisecond radio pulsars. We have constrained the thermal radiation from its surface through XMM-Newton X-ray observations,…
The population of accretion-powered millisecond pulsars has grown rapidly over the last four years, with the discovery of six new examples to bring the total sample to seven. While the first six discovered are transients active for a few…
The spin frequency distribution of accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars cuts off sharply above 730 Hz, well below the breakup spin rate for most neutron star equations of state. I review several different ideas for explaining this cutoff.…
Millisecond pulsars, old neutron stars spun-up by accreting matter from a companion star, can reach high rotation rates of hundreds of revolutions per second. Until now, all such "recycled" rotation-powered pulsars have been detected by…
Long expected transition states between the rotation powered and accretion powered non-thermal emission in the millisecond pulsar binary systems have been recently observed in the case of three objects PSR J1023+0038, PSR J1824-2452, and…