Related papers: V407 Vul: a direct impact accretor

We present time-resolved spectroscopy of the optical counterpart to the proposed ultra-compact binary system V407 Vul (=RX J1914.4+2456). Our Gemini spectra resolve the 9.48 minute periodicity that has previously been reported for this…

We report strong evidence for a ~304-day periodicity in the spin history of the accretion-powered pulsar GX1+4 that is most probably associated with the orbital period of the system. We have used data from the Burst and Transient Source…

The Fermi $\gamma$-ray source 1FGL J1417.7--4407 (J1417) is a compact X-ray binary with a neutron star primary and a red giant companion in a $\sim$5.4 day orbit. This initial conclusion, based on optical and X-ray data, was confirmed when…

X-ray pulsars shine thanks to the conversion of the gravitational energy of accreted material to X-ray radiation. The accretion rate is modulated by geometrical and hydrodynamical effects in the stellar wind of the pulsar companions and/or…

PSR J1023+0038 is the first millisecond pulsar discovered to pulsate in the visible band; such a detection took place when the pulsar was surrounded by an accretion disk and also showed X-ray pulsations. We report on the first high time…

CP Tuc (AX J2315--592) shows a dip in X-rays which lasts for approximately half the binary orbit and is deeper in soft X-rays compared with hard X-rays. It has been proposed that this dip is due to the accretion stream obscuring the…

We report on optical imaging of the X-ray binary SAX J1808.4-3658 with the 8-m Gemini South Telescope. The binary, containing an accretion-powered millisecond pulsar, appears to have a large periodic modulation in its quiescent optical…

The variable star AR Sco was recently discovered to pulse in brightness every 1.97 min from ultraviolet wavelengths into the radio regime. The system is composed of a cool, low-mass star in a tight, 3.55 hr orbit with a more massive white…

X-ray data reveal that the supersoft X-ray binary CAL 83 exhibits 38.4 minute pulsations at some epochs. These X-ray variations are similar to those found in some novae and are likely to be caused by nonradial pulsations the white dwarf.…

We calculate the heating and cooling of the accreting white dwarf (WD) in the ultracompact AM Canum Venaticorum (AM CVn) binaries and show that the WD can contribute significantly to their optical and ultraviolet emission. We estimate the…

Binary star-formation theory predicts that close binaries (a<100 AU) will experience periodic pulsed accretion events as streams of material form at the inner edge of a circumbinary disk, cross a dynamically cleared gap, and feed…

Based on the X-ray observations from XMM-Newton and Swift, and optical observations from Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and AAVSO, we present temporal and spectral properties of probable intermediate polar SWIFT J0503.7-2819.…

We present a long-period radio transient (GLEAM-X J0704-37) discovered to have an optical counterpart, consistent with a cool main sequence star of spectral type M3. The radio pulsations occur at the longest period yet found, 2.9 hours, and…

It is thought that neutron stars in low-mass binary systems can accrete matter and angular momentum from the companion star and be spun-up to millisecond rotational periods. During the accretion stage, the system is called a low-mass X-ray…

V583 Lyr is an extremely low mass ratio Algol-type binary with an orbital period of 11.2580 days. We determined an effective temperature of T_{eff1} = 9000 \pm 350 K from newly observed spectra, which might be an underestimate due to binary…

Neutron stars are thought to be born rapidly rotating and then exhibit a phase of a rotation-powered pulsations as they slow down to 1-10 s periods. The significant population of millisecond pulsars observed in our Galaxy is explained by…

The highly variable blazar OJ~287 is commonly discussed as an example of a binary black hole system. The 130 year long optical light curve is well explained by a model where the central body is a massive black hole of 18.35$\times$10$^9$…

We report the results of XMM-Newton observations of HD49798/RXJ0648.0-4418, the only known X-ray binary consisting of a hot sub-dwarf and a white dwarf. The white dwarf rotates very rapidly (P=13.2 s) and has a dynamically measured mass of…

The shortest-period binary star system known to date, RX J0806.3+1527 (HM Cancri), has now been observed in the optical for more than two decades. Although it is thought to be a double degenerate binary undergoing mass transfer, an early…

We present XMM-Newton and Chandra observations of the low-mass X-ray binary XSS J12270--4859, which experienced a dramatic decline in optical/X-ray brightness at the end of 2012, indicative of the disappearance of its accretion disk. In…