Related papers: Long-term X-ray Variability of Ultraluminous X-ray…
In the last years the hard X-ray astronomy has made a significant step forward, thanks to the monitoring of the IBIS/ISGRI telescope on board the INTEGRAL satellite and of the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) on board of the Swift observatory.…
We report the detection of a 115 day periodicity in SWIFT/XRT monitoring data from the ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) NGC 5408 X-1. Our ongoing campaign samples its X-ray flux approximately twice weekly and has now achieved a temporal…
We present timing and spectral analysis of a sample of seven hard X-ray selected Cataclysmic Variable candidates based on simultaneous X-ray and optical observations collected with XMM-Newton , complemented with Swift/BAT and INTEGRAL/IBIS…
We searched optical/UV/IR counterparts of seven supersoft X-ray sources (SSS) in M31 in the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) "Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury" (PHAT) archival images and photometric catalog. Three of the SSS were…
Low-mass X-ray binaries are binary systems composed of a compact object and a low-mass star. Recently, a new class of these systems, known as symbiotic $X$-ray binaries (with a neutron star with a M-type giant companion), has been…
We present the results of long-term monitoring of the X-ray emission from the ultraluminous X-ray source XMMUJ122939.9+075333 in the extragalactic globular cluster RZ2109. The combination of the high X-ray luminosity, short term X-ray…
Long term X-ray monitoring data from the RXTE ASM and CGRO BATSE reveal that the third (superorbital) period in SMC X-1 is not constant, but varies between 40-60 days. A dynamic power spectrum analysis indicates that the third period has…
Ultra-Luminous X-ray sources are accreting black holes that might represent strong evidence of the Intermediate Mass Black Holes (IMBH), proposed to exist by theoretical studies but with no firm detection (as a class) so far. We analyze the…
We report the detailed analysis of the X-ray properties of the discrete sources detected in a long (72 ks) \chandra ACIS-S observation of the Antennae galaxies. We detect 49 sources, down to a detection limit of ~ 10^{38} erg\s; 18 sources…
Since their discovery, Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) have attracted attention due to their combination of extreme luminosities and extra-nuclear locations. However, they are a fairly rare phenomenon, and attempts to investigate the…
Ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are a class of extra-galactic, point-like, off-nuclear X-ray sources with X-ray luminosity from $\sim 10^{39}$~erg s$^{-1}$ to $10^{41}$~erg s$^{-1}$. We investigated the temporal and broadband X-ray…
AX J0049.4-7323 is a Be/X-ray binary that shows an unusual and poorly understood optical variability that consists of periodic and bright optical outbursts, simultaneous with X-ray outbursts, characterised by a highly asymmetric profile.…
Context. The Magellanic Clouds are our nearest star-forming galaxies. While the population of high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs) in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is relatively well studied, our knowledge about the Large Magellanic Cloud…
The operation of CGRO/BATSE continues to produce, after more than 5 years, a valuable database for the study of long-term variability in bright hard X-ray sources. The all-sky capability of BATSE provides, using the Earth occultation…
The persistent BeXRBs are a class of High-Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXRBs), which are characterized by persistent low X-ray luminosities ($L_{\rm X} \sim 10^{34}$ erg s$^{-1}$) and wide ($P_{\rm orb} >$ 30 d), almost circular orbits. In these…
It is now widely accepted that most ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are binary systems whose large (above $10^{39}$ erg s$^{-1}$) apparent luminosities are explained by super-Eddington accretion onto a stellar-mass compact object. Many…
The hyper luminous X-ray source HLX-1 in the galaxy ESO 243-49, currently the best intermediate mass black hole candidate, displays spectral transitions similar to those observed in Galactic black hole binaries, but with a luminosity…
Ultraluminous X-ray bursts (hereafter ULXBs) are ultraluminous X-ray flares with a fast rise ($\sim$ one minute) and a slow decay ($\sim$ an hour), which are commonly observed in extragalactic globular clusters. Most ULXBs are observational…
In this review I briefly describe the nature of the three kinds of High-Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs), accreting through: (i) Be circumstellar disc, (ii) supergiant stellar wind, and (iii) Roche lobe filling supergiants. A previously unknown…
The last comprehensive catalogue of high-mass X-ray binaries in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) was published about ten years ago. Since then new such systems were discovered, mainly by X-ray observations with Chandra and XMM-Newton. For…