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A model in which a neutron star in an eccentric inclined orbit around a Be star passes through a ring of matter around the Be star has been used to explain the recurrent flares of X-ray emission from these systems. The optical emission during X-ray flares is due to partial absorption and reprocessing of the X-rays in the ring.
Until very recently, all known radio pulsars in binary orbits had as companions old, degenerate stars, either neutron stars or white dwarfs. In this talk we introduce a new class of binary radio pulsars having as companions young, massive stars. Concentrating on one system in particular, we show that these systems open a new phase space for studying a variety of physical phenomena, including post-Keplerian dynamics, physics of stellar winds and interiors, and binary evolution theory.
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The interaction between the magnetospheres of accreting neutron stars and accretion disks plays at key role in determining the properties of many accretion-powered neutron star X-ray sources and the recycled binary and millisecond rotation-powered pulsars. Here we show that the behavior of the horizontal branch quasi-periodic intensity oscillations in low mass X-ray binaries and the correlation between the magnetic fields and periods of binary and millisecond pulsars are sensitive probes of the state of the inner disk.
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Twelve peculiar emission-line Algol (PELA) binaries were observed at cm wavelengths. Six of these objects, WW And (tentative), KX And, AM Aur, V644 Mon, DN Ori, and AY Per were detected at the 100 to 400 micro-Jy level, corresponding to luminosity densities of order 10 exp 17 erg/s/Hz. These luminosity densities, combined with nearly flat cm spectra and high brightness temperatures, are consistent with the nonthermal gyrosynchrotron radiation model proposed as the result of observations from the previous PELA survey. Also, the star V367 Cyg was reobserved at thirteen different orbital phases; no variability was found within the errors. V367 Cyg's lack of variability and well-determined average spectral index, however, imply the possibility of a different emission mechanism, thermal bremsstrahlung, although the nonthermal model cannot be entirely ruled out. The characteristic brightness temperature of thermal bremsstrahlung is only about 10,000 K, which means that the radius of the emission region would have to be much larger than previously assumed, about 10 AU. Suggestions for further observations of all previously observed PELAS are presented in order to determine the correct emission mechanism.
An evaluation is made of possible reasons for the persistent inability to identify white dwarf stars in the Be binary systems. It is noted that many Be stars exhibiting large optical enhancements may be Be + WD and Be + He systems, and that observations of pulsations in the H-alpha emission, as well as observation of time delays between enhancements of optical line and continuum, can identify such systems.
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We study the properties of remnants formed in prompt-collapse binary neutron star mergers. We consider nonspinning neutron star binaries over a range of total masses and mass ratios across a set of 22 equations of state, totaling 107 numerical relativity simulations. We report the final mass and spin of the systems (including the accretion disk and ejecta) to be constrained in a narrow range—0.98 ≲ 𝑀 𝑓 /𝑀 ≲ 0.99 for the mass and 0.85 ≲ 𝑎 𝑓 ≲ 0.95 for the dimensionless spin—regardless of the binary configuration and matter effects. This sets them apart from binary black hole merger remnants. We assess the detectability of the postmerger signal in a future 40 km Cosmic Explorer observatory and find that the signal-to-noise ratio in the postmerger of an optimally located and oriented binary at a distance of 100 Mpc can range from <1 to 8, depending on the binary configuration and equation of state, with a majority of them greater than 4 in the set of simulations that we consider. We also consider the distinguishability between prompt-collapse binary neutron star and binary black hole mergers with the same masses and spins. We find that Cosmic Explorer will be able to distinguish such systems primarily via the measurement of tidal effects in the late inspiral. Neutron star binaries with reduced tidal deformability $\tilde{Λ}$ as small as ∼ 3.5 can be identified up to a distance of 100 Mpc, while neutron star binaries with $\tilde{Λ}$ ∼ 22 can be identified to distances greater than 250 Mpc. This is larger than the distance up to which the postmerger will be visible. Finally, we discuss the possible implications of our findings for the equation of state of neutron stars from the gravitational wave event GW230529.
The transfer of mass from one component of a binary system to another by mass ejection is analyzed through a stellar wind mechanism, using a model which integrates the equations of motion, including the energy equation, with an initial static atmosphere and various temperature fluctuations imposed at the base of the star's corona. The model is applied to several situations and the energy flow is calculated along the line of centers between the two binary components, in the rotating frame of the system, thereby incorporating the centrifugal force. It is shown that relatively small disturbances in the lower chromosphere or photosphere can produce mass loss through a stellar wind mechanism, due to the amplification of the disturbance propagating into the thinner atmosphere. Since there are many possible sources of the disturbance, the model can be used to explain many mass ejection phenomena.
We report the discovery of an intermediate-mass transiting brown dwarf (BD), TOI-503b, from the TESS mission. TOI-503b is the first BD discovered by TESS, and it has circular orbit around a metallic-line A-type star with a period of P = 3.6772 ± 0.0001 days. The light curve from TESS indicates that TOI-503b transits its host star in a grazing manner, which limits the precision with which we measure the BD’s radius (R{sub b}=1.34{sub −0.15}{sup +0.26}R{sub J}). We obtained high-resolution spectroscopic observations with the FIES, Ondřejov, PARAS, Tautenburg, and TRES spectrographs, and measured the mass of TOI-503b to be M {sub b} = 53.7 ± 1.2 M{sub J}. The host star has a mass of M {sub ⋆} = 1.80 ± 0.06 M {sub ⊙}, a radius of R {sub ⋆} = 1.70 ± 0.05R {sub ⊙}, an effective temperature of T {sub eff} = 7650 ± 160 K, and a relatively high metallicity of 0.61 ± 0.07 dex. We used stellar isochrones to derive the age of the system to be ∼180 Myr, which places its age between that of RIK 72b (a ∼10 Myr old BD in the Upper Scorpius stellar association) and AD 3116b (a ∼600 Myr old BD in the Praesepe cluster). Given the difficulty in measuring the tidal interactions between BDs and their host stars, we cannot precisely say whether this BD formed in situ or has had its orbit circularized by its host star over the relatively short age of the system. Instead, we offer an examination of plausible values for the tidal quality factor for the star and BD. TOI-503b joins a growing number of known short-period, intermediate-mass BDs orbiting main-sequence stars, and is the second such BD known to transit an A star, after HATS-70b. With the growth in the population in this regime, the driest region in the BD desert (35--55M{sub J}sin i) is reforesting.
Attention is given to semidetached binaries of the Algol type and to related interacting systems, such as Beta Lyrae and the W Serpentis stars. A brief description is given of observational problems. The basic properties of the Algol variables are satisfactorily explained by means of evolutionary models that assume considerable mass transfer between the components. It is pointed out that ultraviolet spectra obtained with the IUE satellite corroborate the view that the present subgiant secondary component was initially the more massive star and that it has been stripped of a large fraction of its mass so that the deep layers affected by CNO processing are now denuded. It is believed that the present-day 'classical' Algols must have undergone a phase of rapid mass transfer in the past and that Beta Lyrae and the W Serpentis stars are probably closer to that stage than ordinary Algols. Around the accreting star a complex structure is formed, and an induced stellar wind may blow a large part of the transferred matter out of the system.
Recently, we discovered with International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) an F0-F2 IV-V companion to the T(sub c)-deficient S star HD 191589. If the magnitude difference is (delta)V=3.7, as indicated by several arguments, and E(B-V) = 0.0, we obtain a value of M(sub v)= - 1.5 +/- 0.4 for the Peculiar Red Giant (PRG), too faint for it to be a thermally-pulsing asymptotic giant branch star. According to the binary mass-transfer hypothesis for T(sub c)-deficient PRG's, a white dwarf must be the source of the s-process enhancement of the current primary star, but it cannot be seen because of the presence of the secondary. If such is the case, the F-star companion may also have been contaminated by s-process material. High-dispersion IUE observations indicate an enhancement of Zr II in the photosphere of the F-star as well. Thus, HD 191589 is likely a triple system, where what was once the most massive component of the system has polluted both of its companions with s-process material. One of these is the current S star, while the other is the companion still near the main sequence.
This paper presents and analyzes blue and red-wavelength high-resolution spectra of twelve chromospherically active binary or triple systems with composite spectra. Spectral classifications for the individual stellar components are derived by means of the 'spectrum-synthesis' technique and are compared to stellar evolutionary models and observed masses and/or mass ratios. Also presented is a carefully selected set of MK reference stars of luminosity class III, IV, and V, and spectral type A9-K5, and v sin i less than 10 km/s, to cover the spectral range of the components of chromospherically active binary systems of the RS CVn-type. New values of v sin i are determined for some of the reference and program stars. Two spectroscopic binaries have been discovered.
Ultraviolet spectroscopy, optical spectroscopy, and spectrophotometry have been used to study the excess UV stars PG 0308 + 096 and PG 1026 + 002. Both objects are short-period binary systems, each containing a DA white dwarf star and a dM star. Orbital periods of approximately 0.284 day for PG 0308 + 096, and aproximately 0.597 day for PG 1026, have been found by spectroscopic analysis of the H-alpha emission line. Ly-alpha and Balmer line profile fitting were used to estimate the mass of white dwarf stars; mass estimates for the dM stars are based on their spectral types. The orbital inclinations are derived from these masses, the periods, and amplitudes of the H-alpha radial velocity curves. The equivalent width of the H-alpha emission line, in each binary system, varies with the orbital phase in such a manner as to imply that it arises, in large part at least, from the hemisphere of the M star that faces the white dwarf star.
IUE data for X-ray binaries were collected and analyzed. Image processing was done for 144 IUE images. The images represent 27 different objects.
Fourteen early-type stars representative of systems which may be harboring a neutron star companion and are thus potential progenitors of massive X-ray binaries have been examined for X-ray emission with the HEAO A-1 experiment. Limits on the 0.5-20 keV luminosity for these objects lie in the range 10 to the 31-33 erg/sec. In several cases, the hypothesis of a collapsed companion, in combination with the X-ray limit, places a serious constraint on the mass-loss rate of the primary star. In one instance, an X-ray source was discovered coincident with a candidate star, although the luminosity of 5 x 10 to the 31 is consistent with that expected from a single star of the same spectral type. The prospects for directly observing the quiescent phase of a binary X-ray source with the Einstein Observatory are discussed in the context of these results.