On the Evolution of Low-mass X-ray Binaries

Monday 17 Apr 2023, 14:50 → 15:10 Europe/Rome

0/0-3 - Sala Rosino (Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia - Edificio ex-Rizzato)

Speakers: Maite Echeveste (Universidad de La Plata, Argentina)

Low-mass X-ray Binaries (LMXB) are binary systems composed of a neutron star (or a black hole), and a low-mass main sequence star, a white dwarf or a red giant, that transfers matter onto the compact object via Roche lobe overflow. These systems can evolve, among others, into millisecond pulsars with low-WD companions and redbacks. Here, I will present three investigations made with the binary evolutionary code developed at La Plata University. First, we study the evolution of LMXBs in order to account for the existence of the observed binary system containing the most massive millisecond pulsar detected so far and its ultra-cool helium white dwarf companion. Then, we expand our theoretical model to reproduce a feedback system whose orbital period changes rapidly. For this purpose, we add tidal interactions between mass transfer episodes in the frame of irradiated systems. Finally, the evolution of LMXBs strongly depends on their capability to lose angular momentum through several processes, among which magnetic braking is poorly understood. Therefore, we study different prescriptions for this phenomenon to show their capability of reproducing wide and tight binaries through stable mass transfer.