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X-ray binaries, among the most luminous celestial objects, provide a unique laboratory to study compact objects like neutron stars and black holes accreting from a companion star. Fast X-ray timing and spectral observations have emerged as powerful tools to explore regions of intense gravitational and magnetic fields, offering a window into stationary space-time metrics beyond the reach of current gravitational-wave detectors. In this talk, I will highlight recent discoveries of both coherent and incoherent signals in high-time-resolution light curves. By focusing on results from the AstroSat survey, I will present the discovery of an intermittent accretion-powered millisecond X-ray pulsar (AMXP), contributing significantly to the small known set of such objects (25 in total) and our understanding of potential gravitational wave sources. Furthermore, I will showcase results from dense multi-wavelength campaigns on neutron star and black hole systems, shedding light on how accretion varies across systems. Lastly, I will discuss the immense potential of combining X-ray polarization measurements with multi-band observations to build a holistic understanding of accreting compact objects across the electromagnetic spectrum.
Dean's Office