Related papers: Is Her X-1 a strange star?
Around 4% of O-stars are observed in apparent isolation, with no associated cluster, and no indication of having been ejected from a nearby cluster. We define an isolated O-star as a star > 17.5 M_\odot in a cluster with total mass <100…
We present optical spectra and images of the X-ray binary Circinus X-1. The optical light curve of Cir X-1 is strongly variable, changing in brightness by 1.2 magnitudes in the space of four days. The shape of the light curve is consistent…
STAR is a large acceptance spectrometer capable of precision measurements of a wide variety of strange particles. We discuss the STAR detector, its configuration during the first two years of RHIC operation, and its initial performance for…
There are three categories of stars whose masses have been found accurately in recent times: (1) two for which Shapiro delay is used which is possible due to GR light bending as the partner is heavy : PSR J1614-2230 and PSR J1903+0327 (2)…
The physics of strange quark matter in the core of compact stars and recent compact star data is reviewed. Emphasis is put on the possible existence of a third family of strange quark stars.
We report on our analysis of a large sample of energy dependent pulse profiles of the X-ray binary pulsar Hercules X-1. We find that all data are compatible with the assumption of a slightly distorted magnetic dipole field as sole cause of…
Results of UBVRIJHKLM photometry, VRI polarimetry and optical spectroscopy of a young star RW Aur A obtained during 2010-11 and 2014-16 dimming events are presented. During the second dimming the star decreased its brightness to \Delta V >…
Z Cam stars are a small subset of dwarf novae that exhibit standstills in their light curves. Most modern literature and catalogs of cataclysmic variables quote the number of known Z Cams to be on the order of 30 or so systems. After a…
In recent years, much studies have focused on determining the origin of the large-scale line-profile and/or photometric patterns of variability displayed by some apparently single Wolf-Rayet stars, with the existence of an unseen…
The possible existence of compact stars made of absolutely stable strange quark matter--referred to as strange stars--was pointed out by E. Witten almost a quarter of a century ago. One of the most amazing features of such objects concerns…
We present Hubble Space Telescope imaging confirming the optical disappearance of the failed supernova (SN) candidate identified by Gerke et al. (2015). This $\sim 25~M_{\odot}$ red supergiant experienced a weak $\sim 10^{6}~L_{\odot}$…
Eclipsing binary DI Herculis (DI Her) is known to exhibit anomalously slow apsidal precession, below the rate predicted by the general relativity. Recent measurements of the Rossiter-McLauglin effect indicate that stellar spins in DI Her…
A number of O stars are suspected to have (weak) magnetic fields because of the observed cyclical variability in their UV wind-lines. However, direct detections of these magnetic fields with optical spectropolarimetry have proven to be very…
Before 1985, attempts to detect radio or X-ray emission from Magnetic CP (MCP) stars were either fruitless or ambiguous. However, more successful results have been obtained in the last dozen years: (i) Radio emission has now been detected…
Quantitative analyses of low-mass hydrogen-deficient (super-)giant stars - so-called extreme helium stars - to date face two major difficulties. First, theory fails to reproduce the observed helium lines in their entirety, wings and line…
We report HI 21-cm line observations of the AGB star X Her obtained with the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) and the Very Large Array (VLA). We have detected HI emission totaling M_HI=2.1e-03 M_sun associated with the circumstellar envelope of…
A neutron star with mass close to the lower limit might be a reasonable model for some anomalous pulsars. Emission is thermal. X-ray luminosity is high. Spatial velocity can be high. Since the radius is predicted to be large, the magnetic…
A model is suggested for the bursting x-ray pulsar, GRO J1744-28, where the compact object of the pulsar is proposed to be a strange matter star with crusts. It is suggested that two envelope crusts shield the two polar caps of an accreting…
We present high-resolution X-ray observations of the chemically peculiar late-type B-star: mu Lep. However, we find spectroscopic and astrometric evidence, which show that the X-rays are not traced back to the B-star itself, but rather to a…
Strange stars are one of the hypothetical compact stellar objects that can be formed after a supernova explosion. The existence of these objects relies on the absolute stability of strange {\it collapsed} quark matter with respect to…