Related papers: An electrically powered binary star?
We present observations of the proposed double degenerate polar RX J1914+24. Our optical and infrared spectra show no emission lines. This, coupled with the lack of significant levels of polarisation provide difficulties for a double…
The late stage of an inspiraling neutron star binary gives rise to strong gravitational wave emission due to its highly dynamic, strong gravity. Moreover, interactions between the stellar magnetospheres can produce considerable…
We show that magnetar models for ULX behaviour have serious internal inconsistencies. The magnetic fields required to increase the limiting luminosity for radiation pressure above the observed (assumed isotropic) luminosities are completely…
Several binary systems have been detected at High Energy (HE, E > 100 MeV) and/or Very High Energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) gamma rays. Some of them are X-ray binaries in which accretion feeds relativistic radio jets and powers the non-thermal…
Recent observations have shown that some compact stellar binaries radiate the highest energy light in the universe. The challenge has been to determine the nature of the compact object and whether the very high energy gamma-rays are…
We present a model for pulsar radio eclipses in some binary systems, and test this model for PSRs B1957+20 and J2051-0827. We suggest that in these binaries the companion stars are degenerate dwarfs with strong surface magnetic fields. The…
We show that high-energy neutrinos can be efficiently produced in X-ray binaries with relativistic jets and high-mass primary stars. We consider a system where the star presents a dense equatorial wind and the jet has a small content of…
In latest years, the high sensitivity of the instruments on-board the XMM-Newton and Chandra satellites allowed us to explore the properties of the X-ray emission from hot subdwarf stars. The small but growing sample of X-ray detected hot…
We propose that ultrahigh energy cosmic rays are produced in binary neutron star mergers. This scenario can account for the heretofore inexplicable narrow rigidity range of UHECRs, because the jets of BNS mergers are generated by a…
We study the dependence of the electromagnetic luminosity --produced by interactions of force-free magnetospheres-- on dipole inclinations in binary neutron star systems. We show that this interaction extracts kinetic energy from the system…
Thanks to the high sensitivity of the instruments on board the XMM-Newton and Chandra satellites, it has become possible to explore the properties of the X-ray emission from hot subdwarfs. The small but growing sample of hot subdwarfs…
Luminous X-ray stars are very often found in visual double or multiple stars. Binaries with periods of a few days possess the highest degree of coronal X-ray activity among regular, non-relativistic stars because of their fast, tidally…
AX Per is an eclipsing symbiotic binary. During active phases, deep narrow minima are observed in its light curve, and the ionization structure in the binary changes significantly. From 2007.5, AX Per entered a new active phase. It was…
We introduce a new model to explain the modulation of the orbital period observed in close stellar binary systems based on an angular momentum exchange between the spin of the active component and the orbital motion. This spin-orbit…
We present imaging circular polarimetry and near-infrared photometry of the suspected ultra-short period white-dwarf binary RX J0806.3+1527 obtained with the ESO VLT and discuss the implications for a possible magnetic nature of the white…
RX J0806.3+1527 is suspected to be a double-degenerate white dwarf binary. We present first results of our NLTE analysis of its optical spectrum. The VLT/FORS1 data show a composite spectrum consisting of a blue continuum and superimposed…
We review the current observational status of the ROSAT sources RX J1914.4+2456 and RX J0806.3+1527, and the evidence that these are ultra-short period (<10min) binary systems. We argue that an Intermediate Polar interpretation can be ruled…
We further discuss the Unipolar Inductor Model (UIM) coupled to GW emission (Dall'Osso et al. 2005) and compare it to observed properties of the two candidate ultrashort period binaries RX J0806+15 and RX J1914+24 . We consider the measured…
The partial mixing of matter between the radiative envelope and the convective core in the early type B--star produces an additional increase of star luminosity during the main sequence evolution. The high quality data on stellar mass and…
J191213.72-441045.1 is a binary system composed of a white dwarf and an M-dwarf in a 4.03-hour orbit. It shows emission in radio, optical, and X-ray, all modulated at the white dwarf spin period of 5.3 min, as well as various orbital…