Related papers: Evolution of binaries with compact objects in glob…
We discuss some aspects of stellar evolution in binary systems. While single stars can swell following the chemical evolution of their interior, stars belonging to binary systems cannot overflow the size of the Roche lobe and hydrostatic…
The INTEGRAL satellite has revealed a major population of supergiant High Mass X-ray Binaries in our Galaxy, revolutionizing our understanding of binary systems and their evolution. This population, constituted of a compact object orbiting…
Many, possibly most, stars form in binary and higher-order multiple systems. Therefore, the properties and frequency of binary systems provide strong clues to the star-formation process, and constraints on star-formation models. However,…
In X-ray binary star systems consisting of a compact object that accretes material from an orbiting secondary star, there is no straightforward means to decide if the compact object is a black hole or a neutron star. To assist this…
We study the evolution of a low-mass X-ray binary by coupling a binary stellar evolution code with a general relativistic code that describes the behaviour of the neutron star. We find that non-conservative mass transfer scenarios are…
Most stars, binaries, and higher multiplicity systems are thought to form in stellar clusters and associations, which later dissociate. Very wide binaries can be easily disrupted in clusters due to dynamical evaporation (soft binaries)…
X-rays trace accretion onto compact objects in binaries with low mass companions at rates ranging up to near Eddington. Accretion at high rates onto neutron stars goes through cycles with time-scales of days to months. At lower average…
Most massive stars are found in the center of dense clusters, and have a companion fraction much higher than their lower mass siblings; the massive stars of the Trapezium core in Orion have ~ 1.5 companions each. This high multiplicity…
The presence of a nearby companion alters the evolution of massive stars in binary systems, leading to phenomena such as stellar mergers, X-ray binaries and gamma-ray bursts. Unambiguous constraints on the fraction of massive stars affected…
The characteristics of black-hole X-ray binaries can be used to obtain information about their evolutionary history and the process of black-hole formation. In this paper I focus on systems with donor masses lower than the inferred…
Star-forming regions, characterized by dense environments, experience frequent encounters that significantly influence binary systems, leading to their hardening, softening, or ionization. We extend the Hut \& Bahcall formalism to derive an…
We give a global analysis of mass transfer variations in low-mass X-ray binaries and cataclysmic variables whose evolution is driven by the nuclear expansion of the secondary star. We show that limit cycles caused by irradiation of the…
Binaries have played a crucial role many times in the history of modern astronomy and are doing so again in the rapidly evolving exploration of the Kuiper Belt. The large fraction of transneptunian objects that are binary or multiple, 48…
In the present paper we discuss a selection of facts and questions related to observations and evolutionary calculations of massive single stars and massive stars in interacting binaries. We focus on the surface chemical abundances, the…
The formation of close massive black-hole binaries is a challenge for binary evolutionary models, especially the intriguing system M33 X-7 which harbours one of the most massive stellar-mass black holes (16 solar masses) orbiting a 70 solar…
Be stars are rapidly rotating B type stars. The origin of their rapid rotation is not certain, but binary interaction remains to be a possibility. In this work we investigate the formation of Be stars resulting from mass transfer in…
Recent X-ray observations have detected a class of very faint X-ray transients in the Galaxy which probably reveal a previously unrecognised type of accretion on to neutron stars or black holes. We show that these systems cannot have…
Combination of high-precision photometry and spectroscopy allows the detailed study of the upper main sequence in open clusters. We are carrying out a comprehensive study of a number of clusters containing Be stars in order to evaluate the…
Studying compact-object binary mergers in star clusters is crucial for understanding stellar evolution and dynamical interactions in galaxies. Open clusters in particular are more abundant over cosmic time than globular clusters, however,…
The evolution of neutron stars in close binary systems with a low-mass companion is considered assuming the magnetic field to be confined within the solid crust. We adopt the standard scenario of the evolution in a close binary system in…