Related papers: A non-interacting Galactic black hole candidate in…
We report on a data-driven spectral model that we have developed for the identification of double-lined spectroscopic binary stars (SB2s) in the LAMOST low-resolution survey (R$\sim$1800). Employing simultaneous fitting with both…
Classical Cepheid variable stars are crucial calibrators of the cosmic distance scale thanks to a relation between their pulsation periods and luminosities. Their archetype, {\delta} Cephei, is an important calibrator for this relation. In…
We report the discovery of a substellar companion to the intermediate-mass star HD 11977 (G5 III). Radial velocities of this star have been monitored for five years with FEROS at the 1.52-m ESO and later at the 2.2-m MPG/ESO telescope in La…
If binary intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs; with masses between 100 and $10^4 \Msun$) form in dense stellar clusters, their inspiral will be detectable with the planned Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) out to several Gpc. Here…
The bright southern binary star beta Centauri (HR 5267) has been observed with the Sydney University Stellar Interferometer (SUSI) and spectroscopically with the ESO CAT and Swiss Euler telescopes at La Silla. The interferometric…
Current models predict that binary interactions are a major ingredient for the formation of bipolar planetary nebulae (PNe) and pre-planetary nebulae (PPNe). Despite years of radial velocity (RV) monitoring, the paucity of known binaries…
Light curves of ellipsoidal variables collected by the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) were analyzed, in order to search for dormant black hole candidates. After the preselection based on the amplitude of ellipsoidal…
Most galaxies have supermassive black holes (SMBH) at their centres, surrounded by stars with binary systems also present in this environment. We use two schemes - post-Newtonian (PN) and a scalar perturbation to a background metric to…
We present an analysis of a newly discovered 2+1+1 quadruple system with TESS containing an unresolved eclipsing binary (EB) as part of TIC 121088960 and a close neighbor TIC 121088959. The EB consists of two very low-mass M dwarfs in a…
We perform force-free simulations for a neutron star orbiting a black hole, aiming at clarifying the main magnetosphere properties of such binaries towards their innermost stable circular orbits. Several configurations are explored, varying…
Observations of gravitational waves and their electromagnetic counterparts may soon uncover the existence of coalescing compact binary systems formed by a stellar-mass black hole and a neutron star. These mergers result in a remnant black…
I propose that the relatively high eccentricity found in some tidally strongly interacting binary systems, where the mass-losing star is an evolved giant star, e.g., an asymptotic giant branch star, is caused by an enhanced mass loss rate…
We determine the main properties of the Galactic binary black hole (BBH) population detectable by LISA and strategies to distinguish them from the much more numerous white dwarf binaries. We simulate BBH populations based on cosmological…
We present an imaging study of the black hole binary candidate SDSS J1536+0441 (z=0.3893), based on deep, high resolution VzK images collected at the ESO/VLT. The images clearly show an asymmetric elongation, indicating the presence of a…
We present a new directly-observable statistic which uses sky position and proper motion of stars near the Galactic center massive black hole to identify populations with high orbital eccentricities. It is most useful for stars with large…
Binaries consisting of a pulsar and a black hole (BH) are a holy grail of astrophysics, both for their significance for stellar evolution and for their potential application as probes of strong gravity. In spite of extensive surveys of our…
The project Massive Unseen Companions to Hot Faint Underluminous Stars from SDSS (MUCHFUSS) aims at finding sdBs with compact companions like supermassive white dwarfs (M>1.0 Msun), neutron stars or black holes. The existence of such…
The center of the Galaxy harbors a supermassive black hole, Sgr\,A*, which is surrounded by a massive star cluster known as the S-cluster. The most extensively studied star in this cluster is the B-type main-sequence S2 star (also known as…
We report on a gravitational wave search for compact binary coalescences involving at least one component with mass between $0.2 M_\odot$ to $1 M_\odot$, and ratio of component masses between 0.1 and 1. The analysis uses data collected by…
Stars with an initial mass more than ~25 Msun are thought to ultimately become black holes. Then stellar-mass black holes should be ubiquitous but fewer than 20 have been found in our Galaxy to date, all of which have been found through…