Related papers: Fast Extragalactic X-ray Transients From Binary Ne…
X-ray binaries are binary star systems in which a compact object (a neutron star or a black hole) and a relatively normal star orbit a common centre of mass. Since the discovery of X-ray binaries with the first X-ray telescopes in the…
Short gamma-ray bursts may originate from the merger of double neutron stars (NS) or that of a black hole (BH) and an NS. We propose that the bright X-ray flare related to the central engine reactivity may hint a BH-NS merger, since such a…
The advanced capabilities of the Chandra and XMM-Newton observatories mean that, for the first time, the detailed study of the brightest point-like X-ray sources in nearby galaxies outside of the local group is a realistic aim. Here, we…
Short duration Gamma-Ray Bursts are thought to originate from the coalescence of neutron stars in binary systems. They are detected as a brief ($<$ 2s), intense flash of gamma-ray radiation followed by a weaker, rapidly decreasing…
Recent data gathered and triggered by the SWIFT satellite have greatly improved our knowledge of long-duration gamma ray bursts (GRBs) and X-ray flashes (XRFs). This is particularly the case for the X-ray data at all times. We show that the…
It has been suggested that most Be/X-ray binaries are low X-ray luminosity nearby objects, containing white dwarfs (Chevalier & Ilovaisky 1998). We show that existing evidence indicates that all known Be/X-ray binaries are relatively bright…
Soft-gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs) are galactic X-ray stars that emit numerous short-duration (about 0.1 s) bursts of hard X-rays during sporadic active periods. They are thought to be magnetars: strongly magnetized neutron stars with…
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…
We describe the possible electromagnetic signals expected from the magnetospheric interactions of a neutron star binary prior to merger. We find that both radio and X-ray signals of detectable strength are possible. We discuss possible…
The cosmological star formation rate in the combined Chandra Deep Fields North and South is derived from our X-Ray Luminosity Function for Galaxies in these Deep Fields. Mild evolution is seen up to redshift order unity with SFR ~ (1 +…
We discovered eclipses and dips in two luminous (and highly variable) X-ray sources in M\,51. One (CXOM51 J132943.3$+$471135) is an ultraluminous supersoft source, with a thermal spectrum at a temperature of about 0.1 keV and characteristic…
It is an open question whether and how gravitational wave events involving neutron stars can be preceded by electromagnetic counterparts. This work shows that the collision of two neutron stars with magnetic fields well below magnetar-level…
The physical nature of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs), a new type of cosmological transients discovered recently, is not known. It has been suggested that FRBs can be produced when a spinning supra-massive neutron star loses centrifugal support…
The origin of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays remains one of the central open questions in astroparticle physics. Recent measurements reveal anisotropies in arrival directions, a rigidity-dependent composition dominated by intermediate-mass…
Neutron star binaries, such as the one observed in the famous binary pulsar PSR 1916+13, end their life in a catastrophic merge event (denoted here NS$^2$M). The merger releases $\approx 5 \cdot 10^{53}$ergs, mostly as neutrinos and…
INTEGRAL monitoring of the Galactic Plane in the last 5 years revealed a new subclass of High Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs), the Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXTs). They display flares lasting from minutes to hours, with peak luminosity…
X-ray emission is a common feature of all varieties of isolated neutron stars (INS) and, thanks to the advent of sensitive instruments with good spectroscopic, timing, and imaging capabilities, X-ray observations have become an essential…
In this chapter we give an overview of the properties of X-ray binary systems containing a weakly magnetized neutron star. These are old (Giga-years life-time) semi-detached binary systems containing a neutron star with a relatively weak…
We report the detection of 15 X-ray bursts with RXTE and Swift observations of the peculiar X-ray binary Circinus X-1 during its May 2010 X-ray re-brightening. These are the first X-ray bursts observed from the source after the initial…
We report on BeppoSAX and Chandra observations of three Hard X-Ray Transients in quiescence containing fast spinning (P<5 s) neutron stars: A 0538-66, 4U 0115+63 and V 0332+53. These observations allowed us to study these transients at the…