2013/02/19 by Sandro Mereghetti, Mereghetti, Sandro
Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE) #astro-ph.HE
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1302.4634
3 pages; to appear in the Proceedings of 13th Marcel Grossman Meeting (MG13), Stockholm, Sweden, 1-7 July 2012
arxiv created 2013/02/19 · arxiv updated 2013/02/20
RX J0648.0-4418 is a post common-envelope X-ray binary composed of a hot subdwarf and one of the most massive white dwarfs with a dynamical mass measurement (1.28+/-0.05 Msun). This white dwarf, with a spin period of 13.2 s, rotates more than twice faster than the white dwarf in the cataclysmic variable AE Aqr. The current properties of these two binaries, as well as their future evolution, are quite different, despite both contain a fast-spinning white dwarf. RX J0648.0-4418 could be the progenitor of either a Type Ia supernova or of a non-recycled millisecond pulsars.