Related papers: X-ray Binaries
When modeling the population of merging binary black holes, analyses have generally focused on characterizing the distribution of primary (i.e. more massive) black holes in the binary, while simplistic prescriptions are used for the…
An important recent discovery by Pfahl et al. (2002) is that there are two classes of Be X-ray binaries: one with orbits of small eccentricity (<0.25), in which the neutron stars received hardly any kick velocity at birth and a class with…
Investigations of the Galactic black hole low-mass X-ray binaries (BH-LMXBs) offer valuable insights into the elusive black hole population in the Milky Way. Motivated by recent tensions in the natal kick velocity distribution and BH mass…
We study the origin of the ultraluminous X-ray source M82-X1 in the nearby starburst galaxy M82. This X-ray source is of particular interest as it is currently the best candidate intermediate mass black hole; it is associated with a 54mHz…
I review the evolutionary connection between low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) and pulsars with binary companions (bPSRs) from a stellar binary evolution perspective. I focus on the evolution of stellar binaries with end-states consisting of…
We present models for the complete life and death of a 60 solar mass star evolving in a close binary system, from the main sequence phase to the formation of a compact remnant and fallback of supernova debris. After core hydrogen…
Most ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are believed to be X-ray binary systems, but previous observational and theoretical studies tend to prefer a black hole rather than a neutron star accretor. The recent discovery of 1.37 s pulsations…
Type I X-ray bursts are very common in neutron star X-ray binaries, but no Type I burst has been seen in the dozen or so binaries in which the accreting compact star is too massive to be a neutron star and therefore is identified as a black…
High redshift galaxies permit the study of the formation and evolution of X-ray binary populations on cosmological timescales, probing a wide range of metallicities and star-formation rates. In this paper, we present results from a large…
The formation of neutron stars is associated with powerful astrophysical transients such as supernovae. In many cases, asymmetries in the supernova explosions are thought to be responsible for the large observed velocities of neutron stars.…
Observations of galactic and extra-galactic globular clusters have shown that on average metal-rich clusters are ~3 times as likely to contain a bright X-ray source than their metal-poor counterparts. We propose that this can be explained…
Binary interactions are commonplace among massive stars, giving rise observed phenomena such as X-ray binaries, stripped stars & supernovae, and gravitational-wave sources. The multiplicity properties of massive stars thus represent a…
We consider X-ray binaries (XBs) as potential sources of stellar feedback. XBs observationally appear able to deposit a high fraction of their power output into their local interstellar medium, which may make them a non-negligible source of…
Supernovae, the explosive deaths of massive stars, create heavy elements and form black holes and neutron stars. These compact objects often receive a velocity at formation, a "kick" whose physical origin remains debated. We investigate…
An exact calculation of CaI $\lambda 6439.075$A absorption profiles in the spectra of optical stars in low-mass X-ray binary systems with black holes (BH LMXBs) is carried out. We show that the approximation of a real Roche lobe filling…
In this review I first summarize why binaries are key objects in the study of stellar populations, key objects to understand the evolution of star clusters, key objects to understand galaxies and thus the universe. I then focus on 4…
The nature of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) is still debated. Recent studies show that metal-poor massive stars can collapse into massive stellar black holes (MSBHs), that is black holes with mass > 25 Msun. Such MSBHs are sufficiently…
Absorption and reprocessing of Gamma-ray burst radiation in the environment of cosmological GRBs can be used as a powerful probe of the elusive nature of their progenitors. Although it is widely accepted that long-duration GRBs are…
We investigated the reported distances of Galactic black hole (BH) and neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). Comparing the distances derived for the neutron stars CygX-2 and XTE J2123-058 using the observed Eddington limited…
Two types of supernova are thought to produce the overwhelming majority of neutron stars in the Universe. The first type, iron-core collapse supernovae, occurs when a high-mass star develops a degenerate iron core that exceeds the…