Contents

• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Preface
  • Overview
  • Thesis organisation
• Introduction: basic concepts
  • Overview
  • Accretion Driven X-ray sources
    • Basics of accretion
    • Neutron Star X-ray binaries
    • Magnetic Cataclysmic Variables
    • Old  Isolated  NSs  accreting  from  Interstellar Medium
  • Isolated  degenerate  stars:  not  accreting WD and NS
    • Isolated Rotation-Powered NSs: Radio Pulsars
    • Isolated WDs
• ROSAT
  • Overview
  • The ROSAT mission
  • The PSPC detectors
  • The HRI detector
• Strategies for periodic signal search
  • Overview
  • Introduction  to  the  tools  for the search of astronomical signals
  • Timing techniques
    • ``Colored'' noise power spectra
    • Unevenly spaced data
  • ROSAT specific problems
  • Systematic  ROSAT  PSPC  light  curve analysis
• A pilot study: ROSAT HRI light curves of bright X-Ray sources in M31
  • Why M31 ?
  • 1990 HRI Observation
    • Search Strategy
    • Results
  • Further M31 ROSAT observations
    • 1991-1992 PSPC observation
    • 1994 HRI observation
    • Follow-up ROSAT HRI observation
• Searching for periodicities in the WGA catalogue PSPC light curves
  • Overview
  • The WGA Catalogue
  • Selection   of   the   sample   and  X-ray properties
  • Results and overall properties
    • Pulsating source catalogue
• Especially interesting cases
  • Overview
  • HD49798 (1WGA J0648.0-4418)
    • ROSAT PSPC observation
    • Other X-ray observations
    • Data interpretation
    • Follow-up
  • 2E0050.1-7247 (1WGA J0051.8-7231)
    • ROSAT PSPC observations
    • EXOSAT CMA
    • Einstein IPC
    • Discussion
    • Follow-up
  • PG1159-035 (1WGA 1201.7-0345)
    • ROSAT PSPC observations
  • Other interesting cases: preliminary results
• Results of periodicity search in the EXOSAT ME light curves
  • Overview
  • The discovery of 8.7s pulsations from 4U0142+614
    • Timing analysis
    • About the nature of the 4U0142+614
    • Follow-up studies
  • A new class of X-ray pulsators ?
    • Observational characteristics of the Very Low Mass X-ray Binary Pulsars
    • Overall properties
    • Models
    • Follow-up
  • Search for orbital modulations in a sample of LMXBs
    • Data Analysis and Results
  • A reanalysis of the NGC5548 EXOSAT ME light curves
    • EXOSAT ME Light Curves
    • Search for QPOs
• Conclusions
  • Conclusions
• Bibliography
• References
• Acknowledgements
  • Acknowledgements
• About this document ...