TY - JOUR A1 - Gvaramadze, V. V. A1 - Kniazev, A. Y. A1 - Miroshnichenko, A. S. A1 - Berdnikov, Leonid N. A1 - Langer, N. A1 - Stringfellow, G. S. A1 - Todt, Helge Tobias A1 - Hamann, Wolf-Rainer A1 - Grebel, E. K. A1 - Buckley, D. A1 - Crause, L. A1 - Crawford, S. A1 - Gulbis, A. A1 - Hettlage, C. A1 - Hooper, E. A1 - Husser, T. -O. A1 - Kotze, P. A1 - Loaring, N. A1 - Nordsieck, K. H. A1 - O'Donoghue, D. A1 - Pickering, T. A1 - Potter, S. A1 - Colmenero, E. Romero A1 - Vaisanen, P. A1 - Williams, T. A1 - Wolf, M. A1 - Reichart, D. E. A1 - Ivarsen, K. M. A1 - Haislip, J. B. A1 - Nysewander, M. C. A1 - LaCluyze, A. P. T1 - Discovery of two new Galactic candidate luminous blue variables with Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer JF - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society N2 - We report the discovery of two new Galactic candidate luminous blue variable (LBV) stars via detection of circular shells (typical of confirmed and candidate LBVs) and follow-up spectroscopy of their central stars. The shells were detected at 22 mu m in the archival data of the Mid-Infrared All Sky Survey carried out with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). Follow-up optical spectroscopy of the central stars of the shells conducted with the renewed Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) showed that their spectra are very similar to those of the well-known LBVs P Cygni and AG Car, and the recently discovered candidate LBV MN112, which implies the LBV classification for these stars as well. The LBV classification of both stars is supported by detection of their significant photometric variability: one of them brightened in the R and I bands by 0.68 +/- 0.10 and 0.61 +/- 0.04 mag, respectively, during the last 1318 years, while the second one (known as Hen 3-1383) varies its B, V, R, I and Ks brightnesses by similar or equal to 0.50.9 mag on time-scales from 10 d to decades. We also found significant changes in the spectrum of Hen 3-1383 on a time-scale of similar or equal to 3 months, which provides additional support for the LBV classification of this star. Further spectrophotometric monitoring of both stars is required to firmly prove their LBV status. We discuss a connection between the location of massive stars in the field and their fast rotation, and suggest that the LBV activity of the newly discovered candidate LBVs might be directly related to their possible runaway status. KW - line: identification KW - circumstellar matter KW - stars: emission-line, Be KW - stars: evolution KW - stars: individual: Hen 3-1383 KW - stars: massive Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.20556.x SN - 0035-8711 VL - 421 IS - 4 SP - 3325 EP - 3337 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Henault-Brunet, V. A1 - Oskinova, Lida A1 - Guerrero, M. A. A1 - Sun, W. A1 - Chu, Y.-H. A1 - Evans, C. J. A1 - Gallagher, J. S. A1 - Gruendl, R. A. A1 - Reyes-Iturbide, J. T1 - Discovery of a Be/X-ray pulsar binary and associated supernova remnant in the wing of the small magellanic cloud JF - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society N2 - We report on a new Be/X-ray pulsar binary located in the Wing of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). The strong pulsed X-ray source was discovered with the Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray observatories. The X-ray pulse period of 1062 s is consistently determined from both Chandra and XMM-Newton observations, revealing one of the slowest rotating X-ray pulsars known in the SMC. The optical counterpart of the X-ray source is the emission-line star 2dFS 3831. Its B0-0.5(III)e+ spectral type is determined from VLT-FLAMES and 2dF optical spectroscopy, establishing the system as a Be/X-ray binary (Be-XRB). The hard X-ray spectrum is well fitted by a power law with additional thermal and blackbody components, the latter reminiscent of persistent Be-XRBs. This system is the first evidence of a recent supernova in the low-density surroundings of NGC602. We detect a shell nebula around 2dFS 3831 in H alpha and [OIII] images and conclude that it is most likely a supernova remnant. If it is linked to the supernova explosion that created this new X-ray pulsar, its kinematic age of (2-4) x 10(4) yr provides a constraint on the age of the pulsar. KW - stars: emission-line, Be KW - ISM: supernova remnants KW - Magellanic Clouds KW - X-rays: binaries Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-3933.2011.01183.x SN - 0035-8711 VL - 420 IS - 1 SP - L13 EP - L17 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Malden ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sturm, R. A1 - Haberl, F. A1 - Oskinova, Lida A1 - Schurch, M. P. E. A1 - Henault-Brunet, V. A1 - Gallagher, J. S. A1 - Udalski, A. T1 - Long-term evolution of the neutron-star spin period of SXP1062 JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - Context. The Be/X-ray binary SXP 1062 is of especial interest owing to the large spin period of the neutron star, its large spin-down rate, and the association with a supernova remnant constraining its age. This makes the source an important probe for accretion physics. Aims. To investigate the long-term evolution of the spin period and associated spectral variations, we performed an XMM-Newton target-of-opportunity observation of SXP 1062 during X-ray outburst. Methods. Spectral and timing analysis of the XMM-Newton data was compared with previous studies, as well as complementary Swift/XRT monitoring and optical spectroscopy with the SALT telescope were obtained. Results. The spin period was measured to be P-s = (1071.01 +/- 0.16) s on 2012 Oct. 14. The X-ray spectrum is similar to that of previous observations. No convincing cyclotron absorption features, which could be indicative for a high magnetic field strength, are found. The high-resolution RGS spectra indicate the presence of emission lines, which may not completely be accounted for by the SNR emission. The comparison of multi-epoch optical spectra suggest an increasing size or density of the decretion disc around the Be star. Conclusions. SXP 1062 showed a net spin-down with an average of P-s = ( 2.27 +/- 0.44) s yr(-1) over a baseline of 915 days. KW - pulsars: individual: SXP1062 KW - galaxies: individual: Small Magellanic Cloud KW - stars: emission-line, Be KW - stars: neutron KW - X-rays: binaries Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201321755 SN - 0004-6361 VL - 556 IS - 4 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shrader, C. R. A1 - Hamaguchi, K. A1 - Sturner, S. J. A1 - Oskinova, Lida A1 - Almeyda, T. A1 - Petre, R. T1 - Hifg-energy properties of the enigmatic be STAR gamma Cassiopeiae JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - We present the results of a broadband X-ray study of the enigmatic Be star Gamma Cassiopeiae (herein gamma Cas) based on observations made with both the Suzaku and INTEGRAL observatories.. Cas has long been recognized as the prototypical example of a small subclass of Be stars with moderately strong X-ray emission dominated by a hot thermal component in the 0.5-12 keV energy range (L-x approximate to 10(32)-10(33) erg s(-1)). This places them at the high end of the known luminosity distribution for stellar emission, but several orders of magnitude below typical accretion-powered Be X-ray binaries. The INTEGRAL observations spanned an eight-year baseline and represent the deepest measurement to date at energies above similar to 50 keV. We find that the INTEGRAL data are consistent within statistics to a constant intensity source above 20 keV, with emission extending up to similar to 100 keV, and that searches for all of the previously reported periodicities of the system at lower energies led to null results. We further find that our combined Suzaku and INTEGRAL spectrum, which we suggest is the most accurate broadband X-ray measurement of gamma Cas to date, is fitted extremely well with a thermal plasma emission model with a single absorption component. We found no compelling need for an additional non-thermal high-energy component. We discuss these results in the context of a currently favored models for gamma Cas and its analogs. KW - gamma rays: stars KW - stars: emission-line, Be KW - stars: individual (gamma Cassiopeiae) KW - white dwarfs KW - X-rays: binaries KW - X-rays: stars Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/799/1/84 SN - 0004-637X SN - 1538-4357 VL - 799 IS - 1 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hamaguchi, K. A1 - Oskinova, Lida A1 - Russell, C. M. P. A1 - Petre, R. A1 - Enoto, T. A1 - Morihana, K. A1 - Ishida, M. T1 - DISCOVERY OF RAPIDLY MOVING PARTIAL X-RAY ABSORBERS WITHIN GAMMA CASSIOPEIAE JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - detected six rapid X-ray spectral hardening events called "softness dips" in a similar to 100 ks observation in 2011. All the softness dip events show symmetric softness-ratio variations, and some of them have flat bottoms apparently due to saturation. The softness dip spectra are best described by either similar to 40% or similar to 70% partial covering absorption to kT similar to 12 keV plasma emission by matter with a neutral hydrogen column density of similar to(2-8) x 10(21) cm(-2), while the spectrum outside these dips is almost free of absorption. This result suggests the presence of two distinct X-ray-emitting spots in the.. Cas system, perhaps on a white dwarf (WD) companion with dipole mass accretion. The partial covering absorbers may be blobs in the Be stellar wind, the Be disk, or rotating around the WD companion. Weak correlations of the softness ratios to the hard X-ray flux suggest the presence of stable plasmas at kT similar to 0.9 and 5 keV, which may originate from the Be or WD winds. The formation of a Be star and WD binary system requires mass transfer between two stars; gamma Cas may have experienced such activity in the past. KW - blue stragglers KW - stars: emission-line, Be KW - stars: individual (gamma Cassiopeiae) KW - stars: winds, outflows KW - white dwarfs KW - X-rays: stars Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-637X/832/2/140 SN - 0004-637X SN - 1538-4357 VL - 832 SP - 33 EP - 49 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Postnov, K. A1 - Oskinova, Lida A1 - Torrejon, J. M. T1 - A propelling neutron star in the enigmatic Be-star gamma Cassiopeia JF - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society N2 - gamma Cassiopeia (gamma Cas), is known to be a binary system consisting of a Be-type star and a low-mass (M similar to 1M(circle dot)) companion of unknown nature orbiting in the Be-disc plane. Here, we apply the quasi-spherical accretion theory on to a compact magnetized star and show that if the low-mass companion of gamma Cas is a fast spinning neutron star, the key observational signatures of. Cas are remarkably well reproduced. Direct accretion on to this fast rotating neutron star is impeded by the propeller mechanism. In this case, around the neutron star magnetosphere a hot shell is formed which emits thermal X-rays in qualitative and quantitative agreement with observed properties of the X-ray emission from gamma Cas. We suggest that gamma Cas and its analogues constitute a new subclass of Be-type X-ray binaries hosting rapidly rotating neutron stars formed in supernova explosions with small kicks. The subsequent evolutionary stage of gamma Cas and its analogues should be the X Per-type binaries comprising low-luminosity slowly rotating X-ray pulsars. The model explains the enigmatic X-ray emission from gamma Cas, and also establishes evolutionary connections between various types of rotating magnetized neutron stars in Be-binaries. KW - stars: emission-line, Be KW - stars: neutron Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/slw223 SN - 0035-8711 SN - 1365-2966 VL - 465 IS - 1 SP - L119 EP - L123 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Göttgens, Fabian A1 - Husser, Tim-Oliver A1 - Kamann, Sebastian A1 - Dreizler, Stefan A1 - Giesers, Benjamin A1 - Kollatschny, Wolfram A1 - Weilbacher, Peter Michael A1 - Roth, Martin M. A1 - Wendt, Martin T1 - A stellar census in globular clusters with MUSE: A spectral catalogue of emission-line sources JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - Aims. Globular clusters produce many exotic stars due to a much higher frequency of dynamical interactions in their dense stellar environments. Some of these objects were observed together with several hundred thousand other stars in our MUSE survey of 26 Galactic globular clusters. Assuming that at least a few exotic stars have exotic spectra (i.e. spectra that contain emission lines), we can use this large spectroscopic data set of over a million stellar spectra as a blind survey to detect stellar exotica in globular clusters. Methods. To detect emission lines in each spectrum, we modelled the expected shape of an emission line as a Gaussian curve. This template was used for matched filtering on the di fferences between each observed 1D spectrum and its fitted spectral model. The spectra with the most significant detections of H alpha emission are checked visually and cross-matched with published catalogues. Results. We find 156 stars with H alpha emission, including several known cataclysmic variables (CV) and two new CVs, pulsating variable stars, eclipsing binary stars, the optical counterpart of a known black hole, several probable sub-subgiants and red stragglers, and 21 background emission-line galaxies. We find possible optical counterparts to 39 X-ray sources, as we detected H alpha emission in several spectra of stars that are close to known positions of Chandra X-ray sources. This spectral catalogue can be used to supplement existing or future X-ray or radio observations with spectra of potential optical counterparts to classify the sources. KW - globular clusters: general KW - stars: emission-line, Be KW - novae KW - cataclysmic variables KW - catalogs KW - techniques: imaging spectroscopy Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201936485 SN - 0004-6361 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 631 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gvaramadze, V. V. A1 - Kniazev, Alexei Y. A1 - Oskinova, Lida T1 - Discovery of a putative supernova remnant around the long-period X-ray pulsar SXP 1323 in the Small Magellanic Cloud JF - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society N2 - We report the discovery of a circular shell centred on the Be X-ray binary (BeXB) SXP 1323 in the Small Magellanic Cloud. The shell was detected in an H α image obtained with the Very Large Telescope. Follow-up spectroscopy with the Southern African Large Telescope showed that the shell expands with a velocity of ≈100kms−1 and that its emission is due to shock excitation. We suggest that this shell is a remnant of the supernova explosion that led to the formation of SXP 1323’s neutron star ≈40000 yr ago. SXP 1323 represents the second known case of a BeXB associated with a supernova remnant (the first one is SXP 1062). Interestingly, both of these BeXBs harbour long-period pulsars and are located in a low-metallicity galaxy. KW - stars: emission-line, Be KW - stars: individual: [MA93] 1393 KW - stars: massive KW - ISM: supernova remnants KW - X-rays: binaries KW - X-rays: individual: SXP 1323 Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/slz018 SN - 0035-8711 SN - 1365-2966 VL - 485 IS - 1 SP - L6 EP - L10 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER -