Related papers: Investigating the Lower Mass Gap with Low Mass X-r…
We report on the implications of the peak in the cosmic star-formation rate (SFR) at redshift z ~ 1.5 for the resulting population of low-mass X-ray binaries(LMXB) and for that of their descendants, the millisecond radio pulsars (MRP).…
X-ray spectral analysis of quiescent low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) has been one of the most common tools to measure the radius of neutron stars (NSs) for over a decade. So far, this method has been mainly applied to NSs in globular…
We propose a new formation mechanism (direct-supernova) for low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) that does not involve any prior phase of mass transfer. Survival through the supernova (SN) explosion and shrinkage of the orbit is achieved by a…
The aim of this work is to study the imprints that different models for black hole (BH) and neutron star (NS) formation have on the Galactic distribution of X-ray binaries (XRBs) which contain these objects. We find that the root mean…
Gravitational-wave detections are now probing the black hole (BH) mass distribution, including the predicted pair-instability mass gap. These data require robust quantitative predictions, which are challenging to obtain. The most massive BH…
Binary neutron-star mergers will predominantly produce black-hole remnants of mass $\sim 3-4\,M_{\odot}$, thus populating the putative \emph{low mass gap} between neutron stars and stellar-mass black holes. If these low-mass black holes are…
In this review I briefly describe the nature of the three kinds of High-Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs), accreting through: (i) Be circumstellar disc, (ii) supergiant stellar wind, and (iii) Roche lobe filling supergiants. A previously unknown…
We present direct constraints on how the formation of low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) populations in galactic fields depends on stellar age. In this pilot study, we utilize Chandra and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data to detect and…
The existence of compact stellar remnants in the mass range $2-5\,M_{\odot}$ has long been debated. This so-called lower mass gap was initially suggested by the lack of low-mass X-ray binary observations with accretors about…
We study the formation of low-mass X-ray binaries with a black hole as accreting object. The performed semi-analytic analysis reveals that the formation rate of black holes in low-mass X-ray binaries is about two orders of magnitude smaller…
Studies of nearby galaxies reveal that roughly half of their low mass X-ray binary (LMXB) populations are associated with globular clusters (GCs). We have established that the LMXB hosting frequency is correlated to various GC properties…
Continuing our exploration of the collective properties of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) in the stellar fields of normal galaxies, we compute in this paper the expected X-ray luminosity function (XLF) of LMXBs, starting from the results…
We present a systematic study of the X-ray binaries (XRBs) containing a black hole (BH) and a non-degenerate companion, in which mass transfer takes place via either capturing the companion's wind or Roche lobe overflow (RLO). As shown in…
The origin of the black hole (BH) binary mergers observed by LIGO-Virgo is still uncertain, as are the boundaries of the stellar BH mass function. Stellar evolution models predict a dearth of BHs both at masses $\gtrsim 50$ M$_\odot$ and…
We study the formation of low-mass black hole X-ray binaries with main sequence companions that have formed through case C mass transfer (mass transfer following the helium core burning phase of the black hole progenitor). We identify these…
In a high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB) a massive star interacts with a neutron-star or black-hole companion in various ways. The gravitational interaction enables the measurement of fundamental parameters such as the mass of both binary…
Super-Eddington accretion of neutron stars (NSs) has been suggested both observationally and theoretically. In this paper, we propose that NSs in close-orbit binary systems with companions of helium (He) stars, most of which systems form…
In this review I first describe the nature of the three kinds of High-Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs), accreting through: (i) Be circumstellar disc, (ii) supergiant stellar wind, and (iii) Roche lobe filling supergiants. I then report on the…
High Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs) are interesting objects that provide a wide range of observational probes to the nature of the two stellar components, accretion process, stellar wind and orbital parameters of the systems. A large fraction…
The observed sample of double neutron-star (NS-NS) binaries presents a challenge to population-synthesis models of compact object formation: the parameters entering into these models must be carefully chosen so as to match (i) the observed…