X-ray Binaries Stars System X-ray binary stars are systems containing a normal star and a compact object

in orbit around it. The compact object may be either a black hole or a neutron star. In these systems, there is a transfer of matter from the normal star towards the compact object, a process technically known as accretion. The compact object is usually surrounded by an accretion disc formed by the in-falling flow of matter spiraling around it. The interaction between the accreted material and the huge gravitational field of the black hole or neutron star produces an intense heating of the disc and makes it radiate in Xrays, hence the name of X-ray binaries. As the name suggests these are binary systems which emit large amounts of X-rays. These were among the first X-ray sources to be discovered apart from the !un and other !olar !ystem sources" as they are relatively close as there are many in the #ilky $ay. !co X-% and &ygnus X-% were the first X-ray sources to be discovered in the constellations of !corpius and &ygnus respectively and they are both X-ray binaries. There are two different types of X-ray 'inaries - (igh #ass (#X'" and )ow #ass )#X'", and they have different properties.

High Mass: X-ray 'inaries form from two stars of different mass which are in orbit around each other. The more massive one evolves faster and reaches the end of its life first, after a few million years or so. It becomes a giant and the outer layers are lost to its companion. Then it e*plodes in a supernova leaving behind either a neutron star or a black hole. This can disrupt the binary system, but if the star that e*ploded was less massive than its companion when it e*ploded they the systems will remain in tact, though the orbits may be more eccentric. The companion star then comes to the end of its life and swells to form a giant. It then looses its outer layers onto the neutron star or black hole. This is the (#X' phase. The material forms an accretion disc around the compact object, which heats up because of friction. This heating, combined with jets that can be formed by the black hole, cause the X-ray emission. +ventually the companion star comes to the end of its life, leaving a neutron star,black hole - white dwarf,neutron star,black hole binary, depending on the initial masses of the stars. &ygnus X-% is this type of X-ray 'inary. They are bright in Xrays not only because of the accretion disc, but also because there is a corona which is much more powerful than the !un-s corona. &ygnus X-% is %.,... times more powerful than the !un, and most of it is powered by the gravity caused by the black hole.

An artists impression of GRS 1915 which is thought to be an X-ray binary. The blac hole suc s material off the companion star! which is heate" by friction! emitting X-rays. #icture by Rob $ynes.

Low Mass X-ray 'inaries have a less clear origin. The most likely e*planation is that they form by capture, the lone compact object, the remnant of a massive star, has a close interaction in a cluster and picks up a companion. The mass transfer on to the compact object is much slower and more controlled. This mass transfer can spin up a neutron star so that it is a millisecon" pulsar, spinning thousands of times a second. )ow #ass X-ray 'inaries tend to emit X-rays in bursts and transients and there could be many more present in our gala*y than we see, but which are currently switched off. They also tend to have softer spectra they emit lower energy X-rays", whereas the (#X'-s have harder spectra more energetic X-rays". Images of the globular clusters and the center of our gala*y show that there are many X-ray binaries in our gala*y. They appear as the point sources in the image below, which is of the center of our gala*y. This image of the center of our gala*y also shows the source !agittarius A/, which is the super massive black hole at the center of the #ilky $ay. In X-ray binaries where the compact object is a 0eutron !tar, rather than a black hole, the material which falls from the giant star onto the neutron star builds up on the surface. +ventually there is enough material there for it to 1burn1 like at the centre of a star, and this causes the largest visible thermonuclear flash. The X-ray emission from the X-ray binary can go up by a factor of ten, and then it decays back down again.

%$A&'RA image of the center of the (il y )ay. The small point sources are mostly X-ray binaries in our own gala*y. The super massi+e blac hole at the center of the Gala*y is locate" insi"e the bright white patch in the center of the image. The colors in"icate X-ray energy ban"s - re" ,low-! green ,me"ium-! an" blue ,high-. %lic for a labelle" +ersion. ,.mage courtesy %$A&'RA-

Out flows or Relativistic Jets from X-ray Binaries &lose to the accreting compact object, an important fraction of the in-falling matter is ejected in form of collimated, relativistic outflows or jets. 2ets are possibly the most spectacular and powerful conse3uences of accretion onto compact objects4 they have been observed in white dwarfs4 neutron stars4 and black holes of all mass scales, from stellar-mass in X-ray binaries to super-massive black hole in Active 5alactic 0uclei4 and are thought to be at the origin of the most energetic phenomena in the 6niverse, the gamma-ray bursts. These jets can be observed in broad range of spectrum including *-rays, radio, optical spectrum.

7elativistic jets in these systems e*tract a large, possibly dominant, fraction of the total available accretion energy. They are formed very close to the compact object, deep in the strong-gravity field regions. !tudies of plasma dynamics and radiative processes in relativistic jet, and especially the comparison among the different classes of compact objects, give us a uni3ue opportunity to investigate the effects of the depth of the gravitational potential well in the strong-gravity regime4 the effects of the stellar surface and of the presence of an event hori8on the e*istence of which is one of the most important 3uests of high-energy astrophysics"4 the effects of the stellar magnetic field and the shock acceleration mechanisms on leptons and nuclei.

Artistic +iew of X-ray /inaries System inclu"ing 0ets Spectrum