Related papers: The binary evolution of SAX J1808.4-3658: Implicat…
We report the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) detection of a $\gamma$-ray source at the position of SAX J1808.4$-$3658. This transient low-mass X-ray binary contains an accreting millisecond puslar, which is only seen during its month-long…
We revisited the BeppoSAX observation of SAX J0635+0533, suggested as a possible counterpart to the gamma-ray source 2EG J0635+0521. We have discovered a 33.8 ms pulsation from the source and derived an improved position, consistent with…
We investigate the evolution of interacting binaries where the donor star is a low-mass giant more massive than its companion. It is usual to assume that such systems undergo common-envelope (CE) evolution, where the orbital energy is used…
PSR J1713+0747 is a binary system comprising millisecond radio pulsar with a spin period of 4.57 ms, and a low-mass white dwarf (WD) companion orbiting the pulsar with a period of 67.8 days. Using the general relativistic Shapiro delay, the…
We report the discovery of a new binary pulsar, PSR J1829+2456, found during a mid-latitude drift-scan survey with the Arecibo telescope. Our initial timing observations show the 41-ms pulsar to be in a 28-hr, slightly eccentric, binary…
PSR J1744-3922 is a binary pulsar exhibiting highly variable pulsed radio emission. We report on a statistical multi-frequency study of the pulsed radio flux variability which suggests that this phenomenon is extrinsic to the pulsar and…
Soft phase lags, in which X-ray pulses in lower energy bands arrive later than pulses in higher energy bands, have been observed in nearly all accretion-powered millisecond pulsars, but their origin remains an open question. In a study of…
The binary pulsar J0737-3039 is the only known system having two observable pulsars, thus offering a unique laboratory to test general relativity and explore pulsar physics. Based on the low eccentricity and the position within the galactic…
Tracking the spectral evolution of transiently accreting neutron stars between outburst and quiescence probes relatively poorly understood accretion regimes. Such studies are challenging because they require frequent monitoring of sources…
IGR J18027-2016 is an obscured high-mass X-ray binary formed by a neutron star accreting from the wind of a supergiant companion with a $\sim$4.57 day orbital period. The source shows an asymmetric eclipse profile that remained stable…
Aims. We present the first long-term pulse profile study of the X-ray pulsar SAX J2103.5+4545. Our main goal is to study the pulse shape correlation either with luminosity, time or energy. Methods. This Be/X-ray binary system was observed…
I present an overview of our current observational knowledge of the six known accretion-driven millisecond X-ray pulsars. A prominent place in this review is given to SAX J1808.4-3658; it was the first such system discovered and currently…
We report on the serendipitous discovery of a new X-ray source, SAX J1802.7-2017, ~22' away from the bright X-ray source GX 9+1, during a BeppoSAX observation of the latter source on 2001 September 16-20. SAX J1802.7-2017 remained…
We observed SAX J1808.4-3658 (1808), the first accreting millisecond pulsar, in deep quiescence with XMM-Newton and (near-simultaneously) Gemini-South. The X-ray spectrum of 1808 is similar to that observed in quiescence in 2001 and 2006,…
An outburst of the accreting X-ray millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658 in October-November 2002 was followed by the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer for more than a month. We demonstrate how the area covered by the hotspot at the neutron star…
We consider a new mechanism for the removal of the angular momentum from an X-ray binary system and the change in its orbital period - the mass loss in the form of a wind from an accretion disc. Both observations and models predict powerful…
We present a comprehensive analysis of 2RXP J130159.6-635806, a persistent low-luminosity Be/X-ray pulsar, focusing on its transition to a spin equilibrium state and the discovery of a bimodal luminosity distribution revealing possibly a…
SAX J0635.2+0533 is a binary pulsar with a very short pulsation period ($P$ = 33.8 ms) and a high long-term spin down ($\dot P$ $>$ 3.8$\times10^{-13}$ s s$^{-1}$), which suggests a rotation-powered (instead of an accretion-powered) nature…
We report on the coherent timing analysis of the 182 Hz accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar Swift J1756.9$-$2508 during its 2018 outburst as observed with the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER). Combining our NICER…
Context. Ultracompact X-ray binaries (UCXBs) typically consist of a white dwarf donor and a neutron star or black hole accretor. The evolution of UCXBs and very low mass ratio binaries in general is poorly understood. Aims. We investigate…