Related papers: Polarization modulation from Lense-Thirring preces…

X-ray polarimetry missions like IXPE will be able to measure for the first time the polarization properties of accreting, weakly magnetized neutron stars in Low Mass X-ray Binaries. In this work we present simulations of the expected X-ray…

Quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) are observed in the optical flux of some polars with typical periods of 1 to 3 s but none have been observed yet in X-rays where a significant part of the accreting energy is released. QPOs are expected…

Time-resolved optical and infrared polarimetric observations of black hole and neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries are presented. Data were acquired with the VLT, UKIRT and HIPPO on the SAAO 1.9-m. We find that for some sources in…

Many accreting black holes and neutron stars exhibit rapid variability in their X-ray light curves, termed quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs). The most commonly observed type is the low-frequency ($\lesssim 10$ Hz), type-C QPO, while only a…

Future very-large-area X-ray instruments (for which the effective area is larger than $>3$m$^2$) will be able to measure the frequencies of quasi-periodic oscillations~(QPOs) observed in the X-ray flux from accreting compact objects with…

Type-C quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) are the low-frequency QPOs most commonly observed during the hard spectral state of X-ray binary systems. The leading model for these QPOs is the Lense-Thirring precession of a hot, geometrically…

We report the detection of mHz quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in four NuSTAR observations of 4U 1626-67 during its recent spin-down episode. By using a novel method based on the Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT), we present the first…

Merging binary black holes exhibit a ringdown phase in which they primarily emit gravitational waves in the shape of damped sinusoids corresponding to quasi-normal modes of the Kerr remnant. In general, each mode carries four degrees of…

This dissertation elaborates on X-ray polarisation features of astrophysical environments near accreting black holes. Although the work was originally assigned to supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei, the results are also…

In the context of black hole spin in X-ray binaries, we propose that certain type of quasi-period oscillations (QPOs) observed in the light curves of black hole binaries (BHBs) are produced by X-ray modulation at the precession frequency of…

The X-ray radiation produced on the surface of accreting magnetised neutron stars is expected to be strongly polarised. A swing of the polarisation vector with the pulsar phase gives a direct measure of the source inclination and magnetic…

Polarimetric interferometry is a powerful tool for probing both black hole accretion physics and the background spacetime. Current models aimed at explaining the observed multiwavelength flares in Sgr A* often assume hotspots moving on…

Accreting X-ray pulsars (XRPs) are presumably ideal targets for polarization measurements, as their high magnetic field strength is expected to polarize the emission up to a polarization degree of ~80%. However, such expectations are being…

Magnetars are conjectured to be highly magnetized neutron stars (NSs). Strong internal magnetic field and elasticity in the crust may deform the stars and lead to free precession. We study the precession dynamics of triaxially-deformed NSs…

We develop a simple physical model to describe the most common type of low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) seen in a number of accreting black hole systems, as well as the shape of the relativistically broadened iron emission…

Context. Several instances of low frequency Quasi-Periodic Oscillations (QPOs) have been reported in ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs), including three in pulsating ones (PULXs) to date. The nature of many ULXs is still unclear, as are the…

Quasi-Periodic Oscillations (QPOs) observed in the X-ray flux emitted by accreting black holes, are associated to phenomena occurring near the horizon. Future very large area X-ray instruments will be able to measure QPO frequencies with…

We study theoretical X-ray light curves and polarization properties of accretion-powered millisecond pulsars. We assume that the radiation is produced in two antipodal spots at the neutron star surface which are associated with the magnetic…

The X-ray light curves of accreting black holes and neutron stars in binary systems show various types of quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs), the origin of which is still debated. The Relativistic Precession Model identifies the QPO…

We conduct a comprehensive analysis of the accreting X-ray pulsar, Hercules X-1, utilizing data from IXPE and NuSTAR. IXPE performed five observations of Her X-1, consisting of three in the Main-on state and two in the Short-on state. Our…