Related papers: An evolutionary model for SAX J1808.4 -- 3658
We examine a number of evolutionary scenarios for the recently discovered class of accretion-powered millisecond X-ray pulsars in ultracompact binaries, including XTE J0929-314 and XTE J1751-305, with orbital periods of 43.6 and 42.4…
On 2008 May 14, the Burst Alert Telescope aboard the Swift mission triggered on a type-I X-ray burst from the previously unclassified ROSAT object 1RXH J173523.7-354013, establishing the source as a neutron star X-ray binary. We report on…
GS 0836-429 is a neutron star X-ray transient that displays Type-I X-ray bursts. In 2003 and 2004 it experienced two outbursts in X-rays. We present here an analysis of the system bursting properties during these outbursts. We studied the…
SAX J1711.6-3808 is an X-ray transient in the Galactic bulge that was active from January through May of 2001 and whose maximum 1-200 keV luminosity was measured to be 5X10-9 erg/s/cm2 which is less than ~25% of the Eddington limit, if…
We analysed Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer observations of the accretion-powered 401 Hz pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658, in order to precisely determine the source distance. While the fluences for the five transient outbursts observed from 1996 were…
The outbursts of low mass X-ray binaries are prolonged relative to those of dwarf nova cataclysmic variables as a consequence of X-ray irradiation of the disc. We show that the time-scale of the decay light curve and its luminosity at a…
The optical light curve of the Be/neutron star binary AX J0049.4-7323 has been investigated using data from the MACHO and OGLE-II projects. This X-ray source, whose neutron star has a very slow rotation rate (P_pulse=755.5 sec), shows…
Circinus X-1 (Cir X-1) is a neutron star binary with an elliptical orbit of 16.6~days. The source is unique for its extreme youth, providing a key to understanding early binary evolution. However, its X-ray variability is too complex to…
We have observed the Be/X-ray pulsar binary system X Per/4U 0352+30 on 61 occasions spanning an interval of 600 days with the PCA instrument on RXTE. Pulse timing analyses of the 837-s pulsations yield strong evidence for the presence of…
The eclipsing hard X-ray source IGR J16479-4514 is the Supergiant Fast X-ray Transient (SFXT) with the shortest orbital period (3.32 days). This allowed us to perform a 250 ks long X-ray observation with Suzaku in 2012 February, covering…
The accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar SAX J1808.4--3658 shows peculiar low luminosity states known as "reflares" after the end of the main outburst. During this phase the X-ray luminosity of the source varies by up to three orders of…
We studied the aperiodic X-ray timing behaviour of the accreting millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658. The source was recently found to be the first accreting millisecond pulsar that shows the kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (kilohertz…
We study the formation of neon-enriched donor stars in ultracompact X-ray binaries (orbital periods P<80 min) and show that their progenitors have to be low-mass (0.3 - 0.4 solar mass) ``hybrid'' white dwarfs (with CO cores and thick helium…
We present a timing analysis of the 2009 outburst of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar Swift J1756.9-2508, and a re-analysis of the 2007 outburst. The source shows a short recurrence time of only ~2 years between outbursts. Thanks to…
We analyzed a 115 ks XMM-Newton observation and the stacking of 8 days of INTEGRAL observations, taken during the raise of the 2015 outburst of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar SAX J1748.9-2021. The source showed numerous type-I burst…
The X-ray light curve and broad band spectral properties of the millisecond X-ray pulsar/burster SAX J1808.4-3658 are reported. In the course of RXTE observations in April--May 1998 the 3--150 keV luminosity of the source decreased by a…
We have performed detailed numerical calculations of the non-conservative evolution of close binary systems with low-mass (1.0-2.0 M_sun) donor stars and a 1.3 M_sun accreting neutron star. Rather than using analytical expressions for…
SAX J1810.8-2609 is a faint X-ray transient, mostly known for its abnormally low quiescent thermal luminosity, which disagrees with standard cooling models. It is also one of a small sample of stars whose mass and radius have been estimated…
The neutron star low-mass X-ray binary SAX J1712.6-3739 is known for its very long and hard thermonuclear bursts in past X-ray observations. Its thermonuclear bursts are so energetic that they can even last for tens of minutes in the hard…
We report on a 63-ks long XMM-Newton observation of the accreting millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658 during the latest X-ray outburst which started on September 21st 2008. The pn spectrum shows a highly significant emission line in the…