Related papers: Binaries as astrophysical laboratories: an overvie…
We highlight the importance of eclipsing double-line binaries in our understanding on star formation and evolution. We review the recent discoveries of low-mass and sub-stellar eclipsing binaries belonging to star-forming regions, open…
The preponderance of binary systems in all known stellar populations makes them exciting dynamical agents for research on topics as varied as star formation, star-cluster dynamics and the interiors of young and old stars. Today we know that…
We show that the Kepler spacecraft in two-reaction wheel mode of operation is very well suited for the study of eclipsing binary star systems. Continued observations of the Kepler field will provide the most enduring and long-term valuable…
The orbital period is a measure of the size of a contact binary star, and can be combined with color to predict its luminosity to a fraction of stellar magnitude. This novel application of contact binary systems currently has limitations…
Radio pulsars are unique laboratories for a wide range of physics and astrophysics. Understanding how they are created, how they evolve and where we find them in the Galaxy, with or without binary companions, is highly constraining of…
High-precision and long-duration light curves from space telescopes have revolutionized the fields of asteroseismology and binary star systems. In particular, the number of pulsating systems in eclipsing binaries has drastically increased…
The light deflection of one component of a binary system due to the gravitational field of the other component is investigated. While this relativistic effect has not been observed thus far, the question arises that whether this effect…
Neutron stars are versatile in their application to studying various important aspects of fundamental physics, in particular strong-field gravity tests and the equation of state for super-dense nuclear matter at low temperatures. However,…
We review the properties and applications of binary and millisecond pulsars. Our knowledge of these exciting objects has greatly increased in recent years, mainly due to successful surveys which have brought the known pulsar population to…
Binary stars are present in all stellar systems, yet their role is far from being fully understood. We investigate the effect of unresolved binaries in the derivation of open clusters' mass by star counts. We start from the luminosity…
Which sample of objects can give strong constraints on single-star evolution theory ? Whilst star cluster members share the same age and the same metallicity, many questions (e.g. field stars contamination, stellar rotation, presence of…
We would like to investigate the information contained in our observations and to what extent each of them contributes individually to constraining the physical parameters of the system we are investigating. To do this, we present a study…
Circumbinary planets (CBPs) are planets that orbit around both stars of a binary system. This chapter traces the history of research on CBPs and provides an overview over the current knowledge about CBPs and their detection methods. After…
I analyze several catalogs of known visual and spectroscopic binaries and conclude that a large number of binaries is missing in current catalogs. Samples of the best studied (nearby and bright) stars indicate that the true binary fraction…
We present a compilative catalogue of Be/X-ray binaries and candidates in the Galaxy and in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. This catalogue contains 130 sources and provides information on names and spectral types of optical…
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…
The next decade of survey astronomy has the potential to transform our knowledge of variable stars. Stellar variability underpins our knowledge of the cosmological distance ladder, and provides direct tests of stellar formation and…
Detached eclipsing binary stars (DEBS) are currently the best source of accurate and precise fundamental stellar parameters. This makes DEBS crucial targets for constraining the impact of various physical processes on stellar structure and…
Clustering objects into synthetic groups is a natural activity of any science. Astrophysics is not an exception and is now facing a deluge of data. For galaxies, the one-century old Hubble classification and the Hubble tuning fork are still…
The Magellanic Clouds, especially the Large Magellanic Cloud, are places where multiple distance indicators can be compared with each other in a straight-forward manner at considerable precision. We here review the distances derived from…