High-mass X-ray Binaries

Abstract

Binary systems in which a neutron star or black hole accretes material from a high-mass star are known as high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs). This chapter provides a brief introduction to the physics of wind accretion and an observational view of HMXBs, including their classification, X-ray spectra, X-ray variability, orbital and compact object properties, as well as studies of Galactic and Magellanic HMXB populations. Two classes of X-ray sources whose possible connections to HMXBs have been debated, ultraluminous X-ray sources and gamma-ray binaries, are also discussed. Approximately 300 HMXBs residing either in the Milky Way or the Magellanic Clouds have been discovered. The majority of these HMXBs host wind-accreting neutron stars. Their X-ray properties depend both on the interaction of the accreting material with the neutron star's strong magnetic field and the properties of the donor star's wind. Most HMXBs are classified as either supergiant XBs or Be XBs based on the spectral type of the donor star; these classes exhibit different patterns of X-ray variability and occupy different phase space in diagrams of neutron star spin versus orbital period. While studies of HMXBs in the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds find that their luminosity functions have similar shapes, an overabundance of Be XBs in the Small Magellanic Cloud points to important variations of the HMXB population with metallicity and age.