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SUMMARY:Exploring the Variable High-Energy Sky: Accreting Neutron Stars an
 d the HERMES Mission [Astrophysics Seminar]
DTSTART:20260202T060000Z
DTEND:20260202T070000Z
DTSTAMP:20260418T045100Z
UID:indico-event-393@events.iiap.res.in
DESCRIPTION:Speakers: Andrea Sanna (University of Cagliari\, Sardinia\, It
 aly)\n\nAbstractLow-mass X-ray binaries are interacting stellar systems in
  which a compact object accretes matter from a low-mass companion star\, r
 eleasing most of its energy in the X-ray band. These systems play a centra
 l role in modern high-energy astrophysics\, as they allow us to study accr
 etion processes under physical conditions that cannot be reproduced elsewh
 ere. In this talk\, I will provide an overview of low-mass X-ray binaries\
 , focusing in particular on systems hosting neutron stars\, and explain wh
 y they are key targets for understanding the interplay between gravity\, r
 otation\, magnetic fields\, and radiation.Here\, I will introduce accretin
 g millisecond X-ray pulsars\, a small but particularly informative subclas
 s of neutron-star binaries\, and discuss their main observational properti
 es. I will show how their rapid variability and coherent X-ray pulsations 
 provide a direct probe of the interaction between accretion flows and rapi
 dly rotating\, magnetised neutron stars\, offering unique insight into the
  physics of accretion close to the neutron-star surface. These systems als
 o represent a key evolutionary link between low-mass X-ray binaries and re
 cycled radio millisecond pulsars\, making them essential for understanding
  the long-term spin evolution of neutron stars and the role of accretion i
 n shaping their observational phenomenology.In the second part of the talk
 \, I will present the HERMES mission concept\, a distributed observatory d
 esigned to monitor the hard X-ray and soft gamma-ray sky continuously. Bas
 ed on a constellation of CubeSats\, HERMES can provide wide-sky coverage a
 nd localise high-energy transients in a scalable\, cost-effective way. I w
 ill discuss the current status of the HERMES Pathfinders and the SpIRIT mi
 ssion\, and illustrate how all-sky monitoring at high energies complements
  targeted observations\, supporting time-domain and multi-messenger studie
 s across a broad range of astrophysical phenomena. \n\nhttps://events.iia
 p.res.in/event/393/
LOCATION:Auditorium
URL:https://events.iiap.res.in/event/393/
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