Related papers: Optical precursors to X-ray binary outbursts
Multi-wavelength observations of the black hole X-ray binary XTE J1118+480 have offered abundant spectral and timing information about the source, and have thus provided serious challenges to theoretical models. We propose a coupled…
In the last 10 years multi-wavelength fast variability studies of low mass X-ray binaries have shown a dramatic development. A key discovery was the detection of O-IR sub-second fluctuations in two black-hole transients, lagging the X-rays…
X-ray binaries exhibit complex variability patterns studied in the power-spectrum. These include the broad-band noise (BBN) components and various types of narrow components called quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs). There is currently no…
We consider a new mechanism for the removal of the angular momentum from an X-ray binary system and the change in its orbital period - the mass loss in the form of a wind from an accretion disc. Both observations and models predict powerful…
We report on a multi-epoch campaign of rapid optical/X-ray timing observations of the superbright 2018 outburst of MAXI J1820+070, a black hole low-mass X-ray binary system. The observations spanned 80 days in the initial hard-state, and…
Tracking the correlation between radio and X-ray luminosities during black hole X-ray binary outbursts is a key diagnostic of the coupling between accretion inflows (traced by X-rays) and relativistic jet outflows (traced by radio). We…
Be/X-ray binaries are the most populous class of High Mass X-ray Binaries. Their X-ray duty cycle is tightly related to the optical companion wind activity, which in turn can be studied through optical spectroscopical dedicated…
Black hole X-ray binaries (candidates) currently identified in our galaxy are mainly transient sources, with the majority discovered through the detection of their X-ray outbursts. Among these, only four were found during faint outbursts…
Monitor of All sky X-ray Image (MAXI) discovered a new outburst of an X-ray transient source named MAXI J1421-613. Because of the detection of three X-ray bursts from the source, it was identified as a neutron star low-mass X-ray binary.…
In X-ray binaries, several percent of the compact object luminosity is intercepted by the surface of the normal companion and re-radiated through Compton reflection and the K-fluorescence. This reflected emission follows the variability of…
The optical behaviour of the Be star in the high mass X-ray transient A0535+26/HDE245770 shows that at the periastron typically there is an enhancement in the luminosity of order 0.02 to few tenths mag, and the X-ray outburst happens about…
Many neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries (NS LMXBs) with short orbital periods (~hours) cycle between outburst and quiescent phases, and thus provide an excellent way to study the accretion process. The cause of such outbursts is believed…
Weakly accreting black hole X-ray binaries launch compact radio jets that persist even in the quiescent spectral state, at X-ray luminosities <1e-5 of the Eddington luminosity. However, radio continuum emission has been detected from only a…
Sixteen years of observations of black hole transients with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer, complemented by other X-ray observatories and ground-based optical/infrared/radio telescopes have given us a clear view of the complex…
Low mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) show evidence of a global correlation of debated origin between X-ray and optical luminosity. We study for the first time this correlation in two transient LMXBs, the black hole V404 Cyg and the neutron star…
We review observations of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs). X-ray spectroscopic and timing studies of ULXs suggest a new accretion state distinct from those seen in Galactic stellar-mass black hole binaries. The detection of coherent…
This chapter for the new CUP book "Compact Stellar Sources" reviews the state of work on multi-wavelength observations of high mass and low mass X-ray binaries. Both neutron star and black hole systems are considered for this work.
We present preliminary results of follow-up optical observations, both photometric and spectroscopic, of stellar X-ray sources, selected from the cross-correlation of ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS) and TYCHO catalogues. Spectra were acquired…
The determination of fundamental parameters in X-ray luminous (persistent) X-ray binaries has been classically hampered by the large optical luminosity of the accretion disc. New methods, based on irradiation of the donor star and burst…
Deep observations with the Very Large Array of A0620-00, performed in 2005 August, resulted in the first detection of radio emission from a black hole binary at X-ray luminosities as low as 10^{-8.5} times the Eddington limit. The measured…