Related papers: Be/X-ray binaries: An observational approach
Observations with BeppoSAX, RXTE and Chandra suggest that many of the bright X-ray sources in globular clusters have ultrashort binary periods. This is remarkable as such systems are not easily formed. With accurate optical astrometry of…
Knowledge of the binary population in stellar groupings provides important information about the outcome of the star forming process in different environments. Binarity is also a key ingredient in stellar population studies and is a…
The orbital motion of a neutron star about its optical companion presents a window through which to study the orbital parameters of that binary system. This has been used extensively in the Milky Way to calculate these parameters for…
Massive colliding wind binary stars serve as laboratories for the study of strong-shock physics. In these systems fundamental flow parameters (velocities, densities, directions) are often well known, and photon fields important for Compton…
Be X-ray binaries (Be-XRBs) are one of the largest subclasses of high-mass X-ray binaries, comprised of a rapidly rotating Be star and neutron star companion in an eccentric orbit, intermittently accreting material from a decretion disk…
While the number of stellar-mass black holes detected in X-rays or as gravitational wave sources is steadily increasing, the known population remains orders of magnitude smaller than predicted by stellar evolution theory. A significant…
The main goal of this work is to investigate the fast photometric variability of the optical counterparts to supergiant X-ray binaries and to compare the general patterns of such variability with the Galactic population of other early-type…
Only a handful of binary central stars of planetary nebulae (PNe) are known today, due to the difficulty of detecting their companions. Preliminary results from radial velocity surveys, however, seem to indicate that binarity plays a…
Moderately close binaries are a special class of targets for planet searches. From a theoretical standpoint, their hospitality to giant planets is uncertain and debated. From an observational standpoint, many of these systems present…
The formation of a binary system surrounded by disks is the most common outcome of stellar formation. Hence studying and understanding the formation and the evolution of binary systems and associated disks is a cornerstone of star formation…
Recent ground based and space telescopes that detect high energy photons from a few up to hundreds of gigaelectron volts (GeV) have opened a new window on the universe. However, because of the relatively poor angular resolution of these…
Coalescing massive black hole binaries are powerful emitters of gravitational waves, in the LISA sensitivity range for masses M_BH ~ 10^{4-7} M_sun. According to hierarchical galaxy merger models, binary black holes should form frequently,…
We present the first long-term optical and infrared study of the optical counterpart to the source RX J0812.4-3114, an X-ray pulsar with a Be type companion. During the period covered by the observations the profile of some Balmer lines…
In the study of stars, the high energy domain occupies a place of choice, since it is the only one able to directly probe the most violent phenomena: indeed, young pre-main sequence objects, hot massive stars, or X-ray binaries are best…
Precise knowledge of the features of several X-ray sources from compact binary sources to galactic nuclei is gradually unveiling the physical parameters of relativistic neutron stars and black holes therein. Recent developments in theory,…
Because most massive stars have been or will be affected by a companion during the course of their evolution, we cannot afford to neglect binaries when discussing the progenitors of supernovae and GRBs. Analyzing linear polarization in the…
We recommend that the search for exoplanets around binary stars be extended to include X-ray binaries in which the accretor is a white dwarf, neutron star, or black hole. We present a novel idea for detecting planets bound to such mass…
gamma Cas (B0.5e) is known to be a unique X-ray source because ot its moderate L_x, hard X-ray spectrum, and light curve punctuated by ubiquitous flares and slow undulations. Its X-ray peculiarities have led to a controversy concerning…
Observations of brown dwarfs provide important feedback on theories of atmospheres and inner structure of substellar objects. Brown dwarf binary systems furthermore offer the unique opportunity to determine the mass of individual brown…
B[e] stars are among the most peculiar objects in the sky. This spectral type, characterised by allowed and forbidden emission lines, and a large infrared excess, does not represent an homogenous class of objects, but instead, a mix of…