Related papers: Fast optical variability in Supergiant X-ray binar…
Classical Be stars, regardless of spectral subtype, display multiperiodic light modulations in the frequency range 0.1-12 d$^{-1}$, when observed with high-cadence and long duration. This behaviour is attributed to non-radial pulsations…
We present photometric observations of the field around the optical counterparts of high-mass X-ray binaries. Our aim is to study the long-term photometric variability in correlation with their X-ray activity and derive a set of secondary…
We present the results of our monitoring program to study the long-term variability of the Halpha line in high-mass X-ray binaries. We have carried out the most complete optical spectroscopic study of the global properties of high-mass…
Be/X-ray binaries are the most numerous group of high-mass X-ray binaries. Their long-term optical and infrared variability reflects the evolution of the circumstellar disk around the luminous companion. This variability manifests…
In X-ray binaries, rapid variability in X-ray flux of greater than an order of magnitude on time-scales of a day or less appears to be a signature of wind accretion from a supergiant companion. When the variability takes the form of rare,…
Be X-ray binaries (Be XRBs) are high-mass X-ray binaries, with a neutron star or black hole orbiting and accreting material from a non-supergiant B-star that is rotating at a near critical rate. These objects are prime targets to understand…
Long-term ("superorbital") periods or modulations have been detected in a wide variety of both low and high-mass X-ray binaries at X-ray and optical wavelengths. A variety of mechanisms have been proposed to account for the variability…
The X-ray emission from accreting black-holes and neutron stars features strong variability on sub-second time scales, with very complex and broad phenomenology. From high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations to rapidly changing X-ray…
Positions of High-Mass X-ray Binaries are often known precisely enough to unambiguously identify the optical component, and a number of those stars are monitored by the OGLE and MACHO collaborations. The light curves of two such candidates…
INTEGRAL monitoring of the Galactic Plane is revealing a growing number of recurrent X-ray transients, characterised by short outbursts with very fast rise times (~ tens of minutes) and typical durations of a few hours. A substantial…
Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXTs) represent the most extreme case of X-ray variability in High Mass X-ray Binaries hosting blue supergiant companions. Mainly discovered thanks to the INTEGRAL monitoring of the Galactic plane, these…
The phenomenology of a subclass of High Mass X-ray Binaries hosting a blue supergiant companion, the so-called Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXTs), is reviewed. Their number is growing, mainly thanks to the discoveries performed by the…
We investigate the spectroscopic characteristics of the optical components of Be/X-ray binary systems, using data collected during our seven-year monitoring campaign. We find examples of major changes in the emission line profiles…
We have studied the very long-term temporal properties of the optical emission from Be X-ray binaries (BeX) in the Small Magellanic Cloud over a ~ 16 yr baseline, using light curves from the MACHO and OGLE databases. All the BeX in our…
Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients are a class of Galactic High Mass X-ray Binaries with supergiant companions. Their extreme transient X-ray flaring activity was unveiled thanks to INTEGRAL/IBIS observations. The SFXTs dynamic range, with…
A fraction of high-mass X-ray binaries are supergiant fast X-ray transients. These systems have on average low X-ray luminosities, but display short flares during which their X-ray luminosity rises by a few orders of magnitude. The leading…
In the recent years, the discovery of a new class of Galactic transients with fast and bright flaring X-ray activity, the Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients, has completely changed our view and comprehension of massive X-ray binaries. These…
Using simultaneous observations in X-rays and optical, we have performed a homogeneous analysis of the cross-correlation behaviours of four X-ray binaries: SWIFT J1753.5-0127, GX 339-4, Sco X-1, and Cyg X-2. With high time-resolution…
We have investigated the spectral and timing variability of four accreting X-ray pulsars with Be-type companions during major X-ray outbursts. Different spectral states were defined according to the value of the X-ray colours and flux.…
We present an analysis of the long-term optical/IR behavior of 111 high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs) in the Small Magellanic Cloud based on data from the OGLE collaboration. Most systems exhibit variability on a range of time scales. This…