Related papers: Revisiting symbiotic binaries with interferometry:…
Symbiotic stars (SySts) are interacting binaries composed of a red giant transferring material to a hot compact star, typically a white dwarf. Although only about 300 systems are confirmed, the Galactic population is estimated at 1.2 x 10^3…
We present and discuss initial selection criteria and first results in M33 from a systematic search for extragalactic symbiotic stars. We show that the presence of diffuse interstellar gas emission can significantly contaminate the spectra…
We examine the applicability of the initial-to-final mass relation (IFMR) for white dwarfs (WDs) in intermediate-separation binary systems (approximately 1 AU), using astrometric binaries identified in open clusters from Gaia DR3. A careful…
The detection of mixed modes in red giants with space missions CoRoT and Kepler has revealed their deep internal structure. These modes allow us to characterize the pattern of pressure modes (through the measurement of their asymptotic…
Barium (Ba) stars form via mass-transfer in binary systems, and can subsequently interact with their white dwarf companion in a second stage of binary interaction. We used observations of main-sequence Ba systems as input for our…
Symbiotic binaries are long period interacting binaries consisting of a white dwarf (WD) accreting material from a cool evolved giant star via stellar winds. In this paper we study the symbiotic binary LIN 358 located in the SMC. We have…
Binary population synthesis shows that mass transfer from a giant star to a main-sequence (MS) companion may account for some observed long-orbital period blue stragglers. However, little attention {\bf is paid to this blue straggler…
Symbiotic stars show emission across the electromagnetic spectrum from a wide array of physical processes. At cm-waves both synchrotron and thermal emission is seen, often highly variable and associated with outbursts in the optical and…
We analyze two binary systems containing giant stars, V723 Mon ("the Unicorn") and 2M04123153+6738486 ("the Giraffe"). Both giants orbit more massive but less luminous companions, previously proposed to be mass-gap black holes. Spectral…
The amount of mass loss in symbiotic systems is investigated, specifically mass loss via the formation of jets in R Aquarii (R Aqr). The jets in R Aqr have been observed in the X-ray by Chandra over a four year time period. The jet changes…
Observational arguments supporting the binary explanation of the long secondary periods (LSP) phenomenon in red giants are presented. Photometry of about 1200 semiregular variables with the LSP in the Large Magellanic Cloud are analyzed…
Symbiotic stars are interacting binaries with one of the longest orbital periods. Since they can contain a massive white dwarf with a high accretion rate they are considered a possible type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) progenitors. Among…
W Serpentis is an eclipsing binary system and the prototype of the Serpentid class of variable stars. These are interacting binaries experiencing intense mass transfer and mass loss. However, the identities and properties of both stars in W…
We report the discovery of a stripped giant + lower giant binary, 2M04123153+6738486 (2M0412), identified during a search for non-interacting compact object-star binaries. 2M0412 is an evolved ($T_{\rm eff, giant}\simeq4000$ K), luminous…
The white dwarf mass distribution has been studied primarily at two extremes: objects that presumably evolved as single stars and members of close binaries that likely underwent substantial interaction. This work considers the intermediate…
The stability criteria of rapid mass transfer and common-envelope evolution are fundamental in binary star evolution. They determine the mass, mass ratio, and orbital distribution of many important systems, such as X-ray binaries, type Ia…
We describe a non-LTE photoionization code to calculate the wind structure and emergent spectrum of a red giant wind illuminated by the hot component of a symbiotic binary system. We consider spherically symmetric winds with several…
Measuring the mass-radius relation of individual white dwarfs is an empirically challenging task that has been performed for only a few dozen stars. We measure the white dwarf mass-radius relation using gravitational redshifts and radii of…
The surface [C/N] of red giants is correlated with birth mass, but not directly impacted by mass loss. Exploiting this, we compare asteroseismic masses of red giants with the same [C/N] and but different evolutionary states. We find bulk…
The evolution of a binary star system by various analytic approximations of mass transfer is discussed, with particular attention payed to the stability of these processes against runaway on the thermal and dynamical timescales of the mass…