Related papers: M 33 X-7: ChASeM33 reveals the first eclipsing bla…

We present high time-resolution ULTRACAM optical and NOTCam infrared observations of the edge-on black hole X-ray transient Swift J1357.2-0933. Our data taken in 2012 and 2013 show the system to be at its pre-outburst magnitude and so the…

Active galactic nuclei and quasars are thought to be scaled up versions of Galactic black hole binaries, powered by accretion onto supermassive black holes with masses of 10^6-10^9 M_Sun, as opposed to the ~10 M_Sun in binaries. One example…

Determining the maximum possible neutron star (NS) mass places limits on the equation of state (EoS) of ultra-dense matter. The mass of NSs in low mass X-ray binaries can be determined from the binary mass function, providing independent…

1E 1740.7-2942 is one of the strongest hard X-ray emitters in the Galactic Centre region, believed to be a black hole in a high-mass X-ray binary system. Although extensively studied in X-rays, many aspects about the underlying nature of…

Extragalactic black hole X-ray binaries LMC X-1 and LMC X-3 are the persistent sources, usually found in soft spectral state. We present the results from spectral and timing study of these sources using MAXI, NICER, NuSTAR and AstroSat…

We present and analyze the optical photometric and spectroscopic data of the Be/X-ray binary MXB 0656-072 from 2006 to 2009. A 101.2-day orbital period is found, for the first time, from the present public X-ray data(Swift/BAT and…

We report on the discovery and the timing analysis of the first eclipsing accretion-powered millisecond X-ray pulsar (AMXP): SWIFT J1749.4-2807. The neutron star rotates at a frequency of ~517.9 Hz and is in a binary system with an orbital…

Extreme eclipsing binaries may harbor peculiar physical properties. In this work, we aim to identify a sample of such systems by selecting binaries with pronounced eclipsing light curves, characterized of large variability ($\Delta…

The neutron star low-mass X-ray binary SWIFT J1749.4-2807 is the only known eclipsing accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar. In this manuscript we perform a spectral characterization of the system throughout its 2021, two-week-long outburst,…

We present a new technique for identifying stellar mass black holes in low mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs), and apply it to XMM-Newton observations of M31. We examine X-ray time series variability seeking power density spectra (PDS) typical of…

The transient ULX in M83 that went into outburst in or shortly before 2010 is still active. Our new XMM-Newton spectra show that it has a curved spectrum typical of the upper end of the high/soft state or slim-disk state. It appears to be…

The black hole candidate, XTE J1752-223, was discovered in 2009 October when it entered an outburst. We obtained radio data from the Australia Telescope Compact Array for the duration of the ~9 month event. The lightcurves show that the…

A previously undetected X-ray source (L_X<10**36 erg/s) in the strongly star-forming galaxy M83 entered an ultraluminous state between August 2009 and December 2010. It was first seen with Chandra on 23 December 2010 at L_X ~ 4 10**39…

An exact calculation of CaI $\lambda 6439.075$A absorption profiles in the spectra of optical stars in low-mass X-ray binary systems with black holes (BH LMXBs) is carried out. We show that the approximation of a real Roche lobe filling…

We investigate systematically whether accreting black hole systems are likely to reach global alignment of the black hole spin and its accretion disc with the binary plane. In low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) there is only a modest tendency…

We present the first orbital elements for the massive close binary, HD 115071, a double-lined spectroscopic binary in a circular orbit with a period of 2.73135 +/- 0.00003 days. The orbital semiamplitudes indicate a mass ratio of M_2/M_1 =…

We report the results of observations of the black hole binaries XTE J1550-564 and H 1743-322 in their quiescent state using the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Both sources are detected at their faintest level of X-ray emission ever observed…

When surrounded by a transparent emission region, black holes are expected to reveal a dark shadow caused by gravitational light bending and photon capture at the event horizon. To image and study this phenomenon, we have assembled the…

We analyze optical long-slit spectroscopy of the nucleus of M33 obtained from the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. Rather than the steep rise expected within the radius of influence of a supermassive…

We examined 134 Chandra observations of the population of X-ray sources associated with globular clusters (GCs) in the central region of M31. These are expected to be X-ray binary systems (XBs), consisting of a neutron star or black hole…