Related papers: The binary evolution of SAX J1808.4-3658: Implicat…
We present the orbital solution for the donor star of the candidate transitional millisecond pulsar 3FGL J1544.6-1125, currently observed as an accreting low-mass X-ray binary. The orbital period is $0.2415361(36)$ days, entirely consistent…
We present a scenario for the spin-up and evolution of binary millisecond pulsars. This can explain the observational properties of the recently discovered binary millisecond pulsar PSR J1740-5340, with orbital period 32.5 hrs, in the…
The accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar SAX J1808.4--3658 shows peculiar low luminosity states known as "reflares" after the end of the main outburst. During this phase the X-ray luminosity of the source varies by up to three orders of…
The semi-detached eclipsing binary system, TT Hor, has a $\delta$ Sct primary component (accretor) accreting mass from the secondary star (donor). We fit an eclipsing binary model from V, B and I photometry combined with spectroscopy using…
We report on the discovery and the timing analysis of the first eclipsing accretion-powered millisecond X-ray pulsar (AMXP): SWIFT J1749.4-2807. The neutron star rotates at a frequency of ~517.9 Hz and is in a binary system with an orbital…
A long standing and unverified prediction of binary star evolution theory is the existence of a population of white dwarfs accreting from sub-stellar donor stars. Such systems ought to be common, but the difficulty of finding them, combined…
RX J1914.4+2456 is a candidate double-degenerate binary (AM CVn) with a putative 569 s orbital period. If this identification is correct, then it has one of the shortest binary orbital periods known, and gravitational radiation should drive…
We detect a significant broadening in the wings of the 401 Hz peak in the power spectrum of the accreting millisecond binary pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658. This feature is consistent with the convolution of the red noise present in the power…
The neutron star low-mass X-ray binary 2A 1822$-$371 has an orbital period of 5.57 hr. Mass transfer in such short-period binaries is thought to be driven by magnetic braking with orbital shrinking. However, 2A 1822$-$371 shows a very rapid…
We present an X-ray spectral and timing analysis of two $NuSTAR$ observations of the transient Be X-ray binary SAX J2103.5+4545 during its April 2016 outburst, which was characterized by the highest flux since $NuSTAR$'s launch. These…
We have used the RXTE and INTEGRAL satellites simultaneously to observe the High Mass X-ray binary IGR J19140+0951. The spectra obtained in the 3--80 keV range have allowed us to perform a precise spectral analysis of the system along its…
PSR J0751+1807 is a millisecond pulsar in a circular 6 hr binary system with a helium white dwarf secondary. Through high precision pulse timing measurements with the Arecibo and Effelsberg radio telescopes, we have detected the decay of…
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…
Modelling of thermonuclear X-ray bursts on accreting neutron stars has to date focused on stable accretion rates. However, bursts are also observed during episodes of transient accretion. During such events, the accretion rate can evolve…
We constrain the binary parameters of the eclipsing accreting X-ray binary IGR J17451--3022 and the nature of its donor star. The donor mass, its radius, and the system inclination angle are computed based on the system orbital period and…
In this chapter we review the formation and evolution of compact binaries with neutron star and/or black hole components (i.e. LMXBs, HMXBs, binary pulsars). After an introduction we discuss stellar evolution in binaries and the processes…
Several dozen binary ultracool and brown dwarf systems have been identified to date. These systems represent valuable probes of star and planet formation at the lowest mass scales. To date, the study of these ultracool binaries has been…
In some semi-detached binary systems, the donor star may transfer mass to the companion at a very high rate. We propose that, at sufficiently high mass-transfer rates such that the accretion disk around the companion becomes geometrically…
Certain carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars likely obtained their composition via pollution from some of the earliest generations of asymptotic giant branch stars and as such provide important clues to early Universe nucleosynthesis. Recently,…
The recent discovery of the first known accretion-powered millisecond pulsar with the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer provides the first direct probe of the interaction of an accretion disk with the magnetic field of a weakly magnetic (B<10^10…