Related papers: CV and LMXB Population Synthesis
The formation of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) is an ongoing challenge in stellar evolution. The important subset of LMXBs are the binary systems with a neutron star (NS) accretor. In NS LMXBs with non-degenerate donors, the mass transfer…
We present a new method for constraining the mass transfer evolution of low mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) - a reverse population synthesis technique. This is done using the detailed 1D stellar evolution code MESA (Modules for Experiments in…
We consider the formation of low-mass X-ray binaries containing accreting neutron stars via the helium-star supernova channel. The predicted relative number of short-period transients provides a sensitive test of the input physics in this…
We apply population synthesis techniques to calculate the present day number of two types of white dwarf-main sequence star (WDMS) binaries within the cataclysmic variable period gap. The first are post-common envelope binaries with…
We revisit the evolution of low-mass close binary systems under different magnetic braking (MB) prescriptions. We study binaries with a neutron star accretor. During mass transfer episodes, these systems emit X-rays and are known as Low…
We consider constraints on the formation of low-mass X-ray binaries containing neutron stars (NLMXBs) arising from the presence of soft X-ray transients among these systems. We show that in short-period systems driven by angular momentum…
Mass measurements from low-mass black hole X-ray binaries (LMXBs) and radio pulsars have been used to identify a gap between the most massive neutron stars (NSs) and the least massive black holes (BHs). BH mass measurements in LMXBs are…
We resume the discussion about irradiation-driven mass transfer cycles in semi- detached compact binary systems. The analytical model that describes the onset of these cycles, which occur on a thermal timescale of the donor star, is…
We study the formation of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) through helium star supernovae in binary systems that have each emerged from a common-envelope phase. LMXB progenitors must satisfy a large number of evolutionary and structural…
Magnetic braking (MB) plays an important role in the evolution of close low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). It is also essential to the formation of ultracompact X-ray binaries (UCXBs). There have been lively investigations on the MB…
We consider an alternative to the standard picture of CV and LMXB evolution, namely the idea that most CVs (and by extension LMXBs) may not yet have had time to evolve to their theoretical minimum orbital periods. We call this the Binary…
Period bouncers are cataclysmic variables (CVs) that have evolved past their orbital period minimum. The strong disagreement between theory and observations of the relative fraction of period bouncers is a severe shortcoming in the…
Magnetic wind braking drives the spin-down of low-mass stars and the evolution of most interacting binary stars. A magnetic braking prescription that was claimed to reproduce both the period distribution of cataclysmic variables (CVs) and…
Magnetic braking (MB) likely plays a vital role in the evolution of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). However, it is still uncertain about the physics of MB, and there are various proposed scenarios for MB in the literature. To examine and…
As has only recently been recognized, X-ray binaries with intermediate-mass secondaries are much more important than previously believed. To assess the relative importance of low- and intermediate-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs and IMXBs), we…
We present the first population synthesis of synchronous magnetic cataclysmic variables, called polars, taking into account the effect of the white dwarf (WD) magnetic field on angular momentum loss. We implemented the reduced magnetic…
We critically re-examine the available data on the spectral types, masses and radii of the secondary stars in cataclysmic variables (CVs) and low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs), using the new catalogue of Ritter & Kolb (1998) as a starting…
The magnetic braking (MB) plays an important role in driving the evolution of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). The modified MB prescription, convection and rotation boosted (CARB) model, is very successful in reproducing the detected…
Recent studies revealed discrepancies between observations and the predictions of the standard magnetic braking (MB). Although alternative models have been broadly discussed in neutron star binaries, they have not been systematically tested…
We use an independent new sample of cataclysmic variables (CVs), constructed by selecting objects for Halpha emission, to constrain the properties of the intrinsic CV population. This sample is restricted to systems that are likely to be…