Related papers: AX J0049.4-7323 - a close look at a neutron star i…
This paper will review the status of our observations and understanding of Be stars in X-ray binary systems. In virtually all cases the binary partner to the Be star is a neutron star. The circumstellar disk provides the accretion fuel and…
Be/X-ray binary systems provide an excellent opportunity to study the physics around neutron stars through the study of the behaviour of matter around them. Intermediate and low-luminosity type outbursts are interesting because they provide…
AX J0049.4-7323 is a Be/X-ray binary that shows an unusual and poorly understood optical variability that consists of periodic and bright optical outbursts, simultaneous with X-ray outbursts, characterised by a highly asymmetric profile.…
The optical light curve of the Be/neutron star binary AX J0049.4-7323 has been investigated using data from the MACHO and OGLE-II projects. This X-ray source, whose neutron star has a very slow rotation rate (P_pulse=755.5 sec), shows…
The purpose of this work is to review the observational properties of Be/X-ray binaries. The open questions in Be/X-ray binaries include those related to the Be star companion, that is, the so-called "Be phenomenon", such as, timescales…
Neutron stars in X-ray binary systems are fascinating objects that display a wide range of timing and spectral phenomena in the X-rays. Not only parameters of the neutron stars, like magnetic field strength and spin period evolve in their…
The environment of a binary star system may contain two circumstellar disks, one orbiting each of the stars, and a circumbinary disk orbiting about the entire binary. The disk structure and evolution are modified by the presence of the…
We have investigated the long-term X-ray variability, defined as the root-mean-square (rms) of the ASM RXTE light curves, of a set of galactic Be/X-ray binaries and searched for correlations with system parameters, such as the spin period…
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 present a new scenario for the behaviour of Be/X-ray binaries based on long-term multiwavelength monitoring and the decretion disc model. The circumstellar discs of the primaries are truncated because of the tidal and resonant effect of…
As the largest population of high mass X-ray binaries, Be/X-ray binaries provide an excellent laboratory to investigate the extreme physics of neutron stars. It is generally accepted that Be stars possess a circumstellar disc, providing an…
We report on observations of the unusual neutron-star binary system FIRST J102347.6+003841 carried out using the XMM-Newton satellite. This system consists of a radio millisecond pulsar in an 0.198-day orbit with a ~0.2 solar-mass…
Be/X-ray binaries are systems formed by a massive Be star and a magnetized neutron star, usually in an eccentric orbit. The Be star has strong equatorial winds occasionally forming a circumstellar disk. When the neutron star intersects the…
RX J0123.4-7321 is a well-established Be star X-ray binary system (BeXRB) in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). Like many such systems the variable X-ray emission is driven by the underlying behaviour of the mass donor Be star. Previous work…
Stars are generally spherical, yet their gaseous envelopes often appear non-spherical when ejected near the end of their lives. This quirk is most notable during the planetary nebula phase when these envelopes become ionized. Interactions…
There are over 100 Be stars that are known to have neutron star companions but only one such system with a black hole. Previous theoretical work suggests this is not due to their formation but due to differences in X-ray luminosity. It has…
The non-axisymmetric structure of accretion disks around the neutron star in Be/X-ray binaries is studied by analyzing the results from three dimensional (3D) Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations. It is found that ram pressure…
Optical and X-ray observations are presented here of a newly reported X-ray transient system in the Small Magellanic Cloud. The data reveal many previously unknown X-ray detections of this system and clear evidence for a 49.995d binary…
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…
The star formation process in molecular clouds usually leads to the formation of multiple stellar systems, mostly binaries. Remaining disks around those stars may be located around individual stars (circumstellar disks) or around the entire…