Related papers: Evolutionary Constraints on the Long-period Subdwa…

Short-period white dwarf+main-sequence binaries are Post-Common-Envelope Binaries (PCEB) that have survived a common envelope phase. Such systems, if detached and eclipsing, enable precise measurements of the constituent stars, providing a…

We have spectroscopically confirmed a brown dwarf mass companion to the hydrogen atmosphere white dwarf NLTT5306. The white dwarf's atmospheric parameters were measured using Sloan Digital Sky Survey and X-Shooter spectroscopy as…

We have measured the orbital parameters of seven close binaries, including six new objects, in a radial velocity survey of 38 objects comprising a hot subdwarf star with orbital periods ranging from ~0.17 to 3 d. One new system, GALEX…

The planet-hosting and Sirius-type binary system epsilon Reticulum (HD 27442) is examined from the perspective of its more evolved white dwarf secondary. The stellar parameters are determined from a combination of Balmer line spectroscopy,…

We report the discovery of a detached double white dwarf binary with an orbital period of $\approx20.6\,\rm minutes$, PTF J053332.05+020911.6. The visible object in this binary, PTF J0533+0209B, is a $\approx 0.17\,M_\odot$ mass white dwarf…

The masses of compact objects like white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes are fundamental to astrophysics, but very difficult to measure. We present the results of an analysis of subluminous B (sdB) stars in close binary systems with…

We report the discovery of a wide (approximately 400 AU projected separation), common proper motion companion to the nearby M dwarf LHS 2803 (PSO J207.0300-13.7422). This object was discovered during our census of the local T dwarf…

HD 213597 is an eclipsing binary system which was detected by the STEREO spacecraft and was speculated to host a low-mass stellar companion. We used high-resolution spectroscopy with the 10-m Hobby-Eberly Telescope and the 1.2-m telescope…

Pulsed X-ray emission in the luminous, helium-rich sdO BD+37 442 has recently been discovered (La Palombara et al., 2012). It was suggested that the sdO star has a neutron star or white dwarf companion with a spin period of 19.2 s. After HD…

Common-envelope evolution (CEE) is among the most uncertain phases in binary evolution. To empirically constrain CEE, we construct a uniformly selected sample of eclipsing post--common-envelope binaries (PCEBs). Starting from an unresolved…

As part of our search for young M dwarfs within 25 pc, we acquired high-resolution spectra of 185 low-mass stars compiled by the NStars project that have strong X-ray emission. By cross-correlating these spectra with radial velocity…

We report additional photometric CCD observations of KPD 0422+5421, a binary with an orbital period of 2.16 hours which contains a subdwarf B star (sdB) and a white dwarf. There are two main results of this work. First, the light curve of…

PSR J1903+0327 is a mili-second pulsar with a mass of 1.67 M_{\odot} in a highly eccentric orbit (e=0.44) around a main-sequence star. This unique system cannot be reconciled with current observations where milli-second pulsars are…

Helium-burning hot subdwarf stars of spectral types O and B (sdO/B) are thought to be produced through various types of binary interaction. The helium-rich hot subdwarf star EC22536-5304 was recently found to be extremely enriched in lead.…

We demonstrate that the previously identified L/T transition brown dwarf SDSS J213154.43-011939.3 (SDSS 2131-0119) is a widely separated (82.3'', $\sim$3830 au) common proper motion companion to the low-mass star NLTT 51469, which we reveal…

We report the discovery of a nearby M5.0V dwarf at 24.6 pc, SCR 1848-6855, that is orbited by an unusual companion causing an astrometric perturbation of more than 200 milli-arcseconds. This is by far the largest perturbation found to date…

The archival spectrum of SDSSJ212531.92-010745.9 shows not only the typical signature of a PG1159 star, but also indicates the presence of a companion. Our aim was the proof of the binary nature ofthis object and the determination of its…

We detect the accreting low-mass companion HD142527B at a separation of 73 mas (11.4 au) from the star. No other companions with mass greater than 10 MJ are visible in the field of view of IFS (\sim 100 au centered on the star) or in the…

Approximately 150 low-mass white dwarfs, with masses below 0.4Msun, have been discovered. The majority of these low-mass WDs are observed in binary systems as they cannot be formed through single-star evolution within the Hubble time. In…

The Hyades K2V+WD system 471 Tau is a prototype post-common envelope system and a likely cataclysmic binary progenitor. We present 10 days of nearly continuous optical photometry by the MOST (Microvariability & Oscillations of STars)…