Speaker
Description
Accreting compact binaries (ACB) are among the most luminous X-ray sources within the Galaxy. By incorporating machine learning techniques, we have identified roughly 11,000 potential ACB candidates in the eROSITA data sample. Optical spectroscopic observations are, however, now required to determine whether these candidates are true ACBs. For this project we are, therefore, conducting follow-up optical spectroscopic observations of these candidate systems using various instruments across the world, including SDSS, ESO and SAAO facilities. The primary goal of these observations is to obtain a complete 150pc volume-limited sample of all ACBs, after which we intend to extend to a 500pc complete sample. Having these complete volume-limited samples will enable us to better understand the evolution of close binary systems, as well as constrain the contribution of ACBs to the total high-energy output of the Galaxy. All of these observations are ongoing, and has already yielded around 150 new ACB systems. In this talk I will give an overview of these observations, talk about some of the results and discuss the future prospects of this project.
