X-Ray Binaries

Book Overview

X-ray binaries are some of the most varied and perplexing systems known to astronomers. The compact object which accretes mass from its companion star may be a white dwarf, neutron star, or black hole, whereas the donor star can be a 'normal' star or a white dwarf. The various combinations differ widely in their behaviour, and this timely volume provides a unique reference of our knowledge to date of all of them. Fifteen specially written chapters by a team of the world's foremost researchers in the field explore all aspects of the X-ray binaries. They cover the X-ray, ultraviolet, optical and radio properties of these violent systems and address key issues such as: how were these systems formed, and what will be their fate; how can we understand X-ray bursts, and how the quasi-periodic oscillations; what is the connection between millisecond radio pulsars and low-mass X-ray binaries; and how does the magnetic field of a neutron star decay? This long awaited review provides graduate students and researchers with the standard reference on X-ray binaries for many years to come.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521599342
• ISBN13: 9780521599344
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 676 Pages
• Weight: 2.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.9" x 9.7"