Related papers: On the nature of Be/X-ray binaries
A review of basic properties of Be/X-ray binaries is presented. These systems (called also hard X-ray transients), which form the most numerous class of massive X-ray binaries in the Galaxy, are composed of Be stars and neutron stars (X-ray…
Be/X-ray binary systems provide an excellent opportunity to study the physics around neutron stars through the study of the behaviour of matter around them. Intermediate and low-luminosity type outbursts are interesting because they provide…
This paper will review the status of our observations and understanding of Be stars in X-ray binary systems. In virtually all cases the binary partner to the Be star is a neutron star. The circumstellar disk provides the accretion fuel and…
We present a new scenario for the behaviour of Be/X-ray binaries based on long-term multiwavelength monitoring and the decretion disc model. The circumstellar discs of the primaries are truncated because of the tidal and resonant effect of…
We summarize the quiescent X-ray observations of transient low-mass X-ray binaries. These observations show that, in quiescence, binaries containing black holes are fainter than those containing neutron stars. This has triggered a number of…
Be/X-ray binaries are systems formed by a massive Be star and a magnetized neutron star, usually in an eccentric orbit. The Be star has strong equatorial winds occasionally forming a circumstellar disk. When the neutron star intersects the…
We present the results of our monitoring program to study the long-term variability of the Halpha line in high-mass X-ray binaries. We have carried out the most complete optical spectroscopic study of the global properties of high-mass…
X-ray binaries are binary star systems in which a compact object (a neutron star or a black hole) and a relatively normal star orbit a common centre of mass. Since the discovery of X-ray binaries with the first X-ray telescopes in the…
We investigate the spectroscopic characteristics of the optical components of Be/X-ray binary systems, using data collected during our seven-year monitoring campaign. We find examples of major changes in the emission line profiles…
A growing number of early Be stars discovered in X-ray surveys exhibit X-ray luminosities intermediate between those of normal stars and those of most Be/X-ray binaries in quiescence. Their X-ray spectra are also much harder than those of…
High Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs) are interesting objects that provide a wide range of observational probes to the nature of the two stellar components, accretion process, stellar wind and orbital parameters of the systems. A large fraction…
Be/X-ray binaries are the most numerous class of X-ray binaries. They constitute an excellent tracer of star formation and can be used to study several aspects of astrophysics, from mass loss in massive stars to binary evolution. This short…
Be X-ray binaries are among the best known transient high-energy sources. Their outbursts are commonly classified into a simple scheme of 'normal' and 'giant' outbursts, but a closer look shows that actual outbursts do not always follow…
The purpose of this work is to review the observational properties of Be/X-ray binaries. The open questions in Be/X-ray binaries include those related to the Be star companion, that is, the so-called "Be phenomenon", such as, timescales…
Neutron stars in X-ray binary systems are fascinating objects that display a wide range of timing and spectral phenomena in the X-rays. Not only parameters of the neutron stars, like magnetic field strength and spin period evolve in their…
There are over 100 Be stars that are known to have neutron star companions but only one such system with a black hole. Previous theoretical work suggests this is not due to their formation but due to differences in X-ray luminosity. It has…
The recent finding by Chevalier & Ilovaisky (1998) that OB-supergiant X-ray binaries have relatively large runaway velocities whereas Be/X-ray binaries have low runaway velocities, provides confirmation of the current models for the…
Luminous X-ray stars are very often found in visual double or multiple stars. Binaries with periods of a few days possess the highest degree of coronal X-ray activity among regular, non-relativistic stars because of their fast, tidally…
Transient X-ray binaries remain in their quiescent state for a long time (months to hundred years) and then bright up as the most powerful sources of the X-ray sky. While it is clear that, when in outbursts, transient binaries are powered…
We consider transient behavior in low-mass X-ray binaries. In short-period neutron-star systems (orbital period less than ~ 1d) irradiation of the accretion disk by the central source suppresses this except at very low mass transfer rates.…