Related papers: Supernova 1993J: a veiled pulsar in a binary syste…
The Type IIb supernova (SN) 1993J is one of only a few stripped-envelope supernovae with a progenitor star identified in pre-explosion images. SN IIb models typically invoke H envelope stripping by mass transfer in a binary system. For the…
G292.0+1.8 is the Cas A-like supernova remnant containing the young pulsar PSR J1124-5916, which powers a compact torus-like pulsar wind nebula with a jet visible in X-rays. We have performed deep optical observations of the pulsar field to…
It is generally accepted that neutron stars form in core collapse events that are accompanied by a supernovae (types II or Ib or Ic). Typical progenitors are, therefore, larger than $\sim 2.1 \Ms$. We suggest \cite{PS04,PS05} that the…
(abridged) PSR J1903+0327, a millisecond pulsar in an eccentric (e = 0.44) 95-day orbit with a (~ 1Msun) companion poses a challenge to our understanding of stellar evolution in binary and multiple-star systems. Here we describe optical and…
Most neutron stars are expected to be born in supernovae, but only about half of supernova remnants (SNRs) are associated with a compact object. In many cases, a supernova progenitor may have resulted in a black hole. However, there are…
The massive star which underwent core-collapse to produce SN1993J was identified as a non-variable red supergiant star in images of the galaxy M81 taken before explosion. However the stellar source showed an excess in UV and B-band colours…
The binary pulsar J0737-3039 is the only known system having two observable pulsars, thus offering a unique laboratory to test general relativity and explore pulsar physics. Based on the low eccentricity and the position within the galactic…
G292.0+1.8 is a Cas A-like supernova remnant that contains the young pulsar PSR J1124-5916 powering a compact torus-like pulsar wind nebula visible in X-rays. A likely counterpart to the nebula has been detected in the optical VRI bands. To…
We searched for and found no higher mass (>3Msun) unbound binary stellar companions to the progenitor of pulsar J1124-5916. There are lower mass candidates, but they all have high probabilities of being false positives. There are no…
The compact binary radio pulsar system J0453+1559 (Martinez et al. 2015) consists of a recycled pulsar as primary component of $1.559(5)\,M_\odot$ and an unseen companion star of $1.174(4)\,M_\odot$. Because of the relatively large orbital…
Radio pulsars found in binary systems with short orbital periods are usually fast spinning as a consequence of recycling via mass transfer from their companion stars; this process is also thought to decrease the magnetic field of the…
We study optical counterparts of a new-born pulsar in a double neutron star system like PSR J0737-3039A/B. This system is believed to eject a small amount of mass of $\mathcal{O}(0.1M_{\odot})$ at the second core-collapse supernova. We…
From Hubble Space Telescope images with 0.05" resolution we identify four stars brighter than V=25 mag within 2.5" of SN 1993J in M81 which contaminated previous ground-based brightness estimates for the supernova progenitor. Correcting for…
Energetic pulsars can be embedded in a nebula of relativistic leptons which is powered by the dissipation of the rotational energy of the pulsar. The object PSR J0855-4644 is an energetic and fast-spinning pulsar (Edot = 1.1x10^36 erg/s,…
The young radio pulsar J1124-5916 is associated with a Cas A like supernova remnant G292.0+1.8. It powers a compact torus-like pulsar wind nebula with a jet first detected in X-rays and then identified in the optical and mid-infrared. We…
We report the discovery of 31.18 ms pulsations from the INTEGRAL source IGR J14003-6326 using the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). This pulsar is most likely associated with the bright Chandra X-ray point source lying at the center of…
The evolution of a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) inside a supernova remnant (SNR) is sensitive to properties of the central neutron star, pulsar wind, progenitor supernova, and interstellar medium. These properties are both difficult to measure…
Evolutionary scenarios suggest that the progenitor of the new binary pulsar J0737-3039B \cite{ref1,ref2} was a He-star with $M > 2.1-2.3~\Ms$ \cite{ref3,ref4}. We show that this case implies that the binary must have a large ($>120$ km/s)…
The mass of the stellar precursor of supernova (SN) 1987A and the burst of neutrinos observed at the moment of the explosion are consistent with the core-collapse formation of a neutron star. However, no compelling evidence for the presence…
We have developed a detailed stellar evolution code capable of following the simultaneous evolution of both stars in a binary system, together with their orbital properties. To demonstrate the capabilities of the code we investigate…