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arXiv · 2602.23474

Transient X-ray Sources as Extremely Eccentric Mass-Transfer Binaries with Compact Companions

Jonathan I. Katz·Michael A. Nowak
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Abstract

It has long been suggested that X-ray transients are produced at periastron of stellar-compact object binaries with eccentric orbits. Recoil of matter evaporated from the star by X-rays from matter transferred at periastron increases the orbital semi-major axis and eccentricity. After periastrons the object would be a transient X-ray source, a Galactic analogue of a tidal disruption event (TDE), but recurrent with a gradually increasing period rather than catastrophic.

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Jonathan I. Katz, Michael A. Nowak. 2026-02-26. Transient X-ray Sources as Extremely Eccentric Mass-Transfer Binaries with Compact Companions. https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.23474

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