Related papers: Modelling the observable behaviour of SXP 5.05

On 2016 July 30 (MJD 57599), observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud by Swift/XRT found an increase in X-ray counts coming from a position consistent with the Be/X-ray binary pulsar SMC X-3. Follow-up observations on 2016 August 3 (MJD…

As the largest population of high mass X-ray binaries, Be/X-ray binaries provide an excellent laboratory to investigate the extreme physics of neutron stars. It is generally accepted that Be stars possess a circumstellar disc, providing an…

We present the spectroscopic and photometric observations on the Be/X-ray binary RX~J0440.9+4431 from 2001 to 2014. The short-term and long-term variability of the H$\alpha$ line profile indicates that one-armed global oscillations existed…

Spectroscopic observations taken with the VLT/UVES telescope/instrument are presented of the unusual Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) X-ray binary system SXP 323 = AX J0051-733. This system shows a clear modulation at 0.71d in long term optical…

The Be X-ray pulsar (BeXRP) SXP 59 underwent a giant outburst in 2017 with a peak X-ray luminosity of $1.1\times10^{38}$ erg~s$^{-1}$. We report on the X-ray behaviour of SXP 59 with the XMM--Newton and NuSTAR observations collected at the…

This paper will review the status of our observations and understanding of Be stars in X-ray binary systems. In virtually all cases the binary partner to the Be star is a neutron star. The circumstellar disk provides the accretion fuel and…

Be X-ray binaries (BeXRBs) consist of rapidly rotating Be stars with neutron star companions accreting from the circumstellar emission disk. We compare the observed population of BeXRBs in the Small Magellanic Cloud with simulated…

We report on a long-term optical monitoring of the neutron star X-ray binary Centaurus X-4 performed during the last 13.5 years. This source has been in quiescence since its outburst in 1979. Our monitoring reveals the overall evolution of…

Type I Be/X-ray binary outbursts are driven by mass transfer from a Be star decretion disc to a neutron star companion during each orbital period. Treiber et al. (2021) recently observed non-periodic type I outbursts in RX J0529.8-6556 that…

Strongly-magnetized ($B\geq10^{12}$ G) accreting neutron stars (NSs) are prime targets for studying the launching of jets by objects with a solid surface; while classical jet-launching models predict that such NSs cannot launch jets, recent…

We present the discovery of radio emission from the Be/X-ray binary A0538-66 with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), and results from a subsequent weekly monitoring campaign with the MeerKAT radio telescope. A0538-66,…

In November 2019, MAXI detected an X-ray outburst from the known Be X-ray binary system RX J0209.6-7427 located in the outer wing of the Small Magellanic Cloud. We followed the outburst of the system with NICER which led to the discovery of…

From late September 2017 to February 2018, the Be X-ray binary (BeXB) Swift J0243.6+6124 underwent an unprecedently bright giant outburst. The reported X-ray luminosities were so high that the system was classified as an Ultraluminous X-ray…

Recent observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) with Einstein Probe (EP) revealed a new transient X-ray source, most likely identified as Be/X-ray binary. To characterise the X-ray properties of EP J005146.9-730930 and in particular…

Superorbital periods are observed in the optical light curves of many Be/X-ray binaries yet their origin has remained somewhat elusive. We suggest that precession of the spin axis of the Be star can drive superorbital periods, particularly…

X-ray transients, such as accreting neutron stars, periodically undergo outbursts, thought to be caused by a thermal-viscous instability in the accretion disk. Usually outbursts of accreting neutron stars are identified when the accretion…

A probable binary period has been detected in the optical counterpart to the X-ray source CXOU J005455.6-724510 = RX J0054.9-7245 = AXJ0054.8-7244 = SXP504 in the Small Magellanic Cloud. This source was detected by Chandra on 04 Jul 2002…

An exceptionally bright new X-ray source in the Large Magellanic Cloud was discovered by the Swift/BAT telescope on MJD 54923 (2 April 2009), and shown to have a pulse period of 27s using follow-up observations by RXTE/PCA. We report here…

We report on the discovery of Swift J010902.6-723710, a rare eclipsing Be/X-ray Binary system by the Swift SMC Survey (S-CUBED). Swift J010902.6-723710 was discovered via weekly S-CUBED monitoring observations when it was observed to enter…

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 0.05 to few tenths mag, and the X- ray outburst happens about…