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Using data from eROSITA, the soft X-ray instrument aboard Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma (SRG), we report the discovery of two new hard transients, eRASSU J050810.4-660653 and eRASSt J044811.1-691318, in the Large Magellanic Cloud. We also report the detection of the Be/X-ray binary RX J0501.6-7034 in a bright state. We initiated follow-up observations to investigate the nature of the new transients and to search for X-ray pulsations coming from RX J0501.6-7034. We analysed the X-ray spectra and light curves from our XMM-Newton observations, obtained optical spectra using the South African Large Telescope to look for Balmer emission lines and utilised the archival data from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) for the long-term monitoring of the optical counterparts. We find X-ray pulsations for eRASSU J050810.4-660653, RX J0501.6-7034, and eRASSt J044811.1-691318 of 40.6 s, 17.3 s, and 784 s, respectively. The Halpha emission lines with equivalent widths of -10.4 A (eRASSU J050810.4-660653) and -43.9 A (eRASSt J044811.1-691318) were measured, characteristic for a circumstellar disc around Be stars. The OGLE I- and V-band light curves of all three systems exhibit strong variability. A regular pattern of deep dips in the light curves of RX J0501.6-7034 suggests an orbital period of ~451 days. We identify the two new hard eROSITA transients eRASSU J050810.4-660653 and eRASSt J044811.1-691318 and the known Be/X-ray binary RX J0501.6-7034 as Be/X-ray binary pulsars., Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

The Magellanic Clouds host a large population of high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB) systems, but although the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is an order of magnitude more massive than the Small Magellanic Cloud, significantly fewer HMXBs are known. We conducted a search for new HMXBs in XMM-Newton observations, which we performed to investigate supernova remnant candidates in the supergiant shells LMC5 and LMC7. The three observed fields are located in regions, which were little explored in X-rays before. We analysed the XMM-Newton data to look for sources with hard X-ray spectrum and counterparts with optical colours and brightness typical for HMXBs. We report the discovery of three new Be/X-ray binaries, two of them showing pulsations in their X-ray flux. With a luminosity of 6.5e34 erg/s, XMMU J045315.1-693242 in LMC7 was relatively X-ray faint. The long-term OGLE I-band light curve of the V = 15.5 mag counterpart suggests a 49.6 day or 24.8 day orbital period for the binary system. XMMU J045736.9-692727, also located in LMC7 was brighter with a luminosity of 5.6e35 erg/s and hard spectrum with a power-law photon index of 0.63. The X-ray flux revealed clear pulsations with a period of 317.7 s. We obtained optical high resolution spectra from the V = 14.2 mag counterpart using the SALT-HRS spectrograph. Halpha and Hbeta were observed in emission with complex line profiles and equivalent widths of -8.0 A and -1.3 A, respectively. The I-band light curve obtained from OGLE shows a series of four strong outbursts followed by a sudden drop in brightness by more than 1 mag within 73-165 days and a recovery to the level before the outbursts. RX J0524.2-6620, previously classified as X-ray binary candidate, is located at the eastern part of LMC5. We report the discovery of 360.7 s pulsations. (abridged), Comment: 14 pages, 22 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

We present an overview of the ongoing observational, theoretical and modelling work on magnetically controlled accretion phenomena in magnetic cataclysmic variables. With SAAO's high speed polarimeter, HIPPO, we have discovered polarized Quasi-Periodic Oscillations, on a timescale of several minutes. We have investigated various scenarios in which such QPOs can be created, all of them requiring some interaction between the ballistic accretion flow and the magnetic field of the accreting white dwarf. With high speed photometry, including observations with SALT, we are investigating the nature of high frequency QPOs (~sub-few seconds) from the accretion shocks in mCVs. We also present some high speed photometric observations revealing the magnetic accretion spots on the accreting White Dwarfs. Developments in the use of Doppler tomography are also presented. Our new "inside-out" visualization gives an alternative way of calculating Doppler tomograms that can better emphasize the ballistic and magnetically confined accretion flows.

Aims. IKT 16 is an X-ray and radio-faint supernova remnant (SNR) in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). A previous X-ray study of this SNR found a hard X-ray source near its centre. Using all available archival and proprietary XMM-Newton data, alongside new multi-frequency radio-continuum surveys and optical observations at Hα and forbidden [SII ]a nd [OIII] lines, we aim to constrain the properties of the SNR and discover the nature of the hard source within. Methods. We combine XMM-Newton datasets to produce the highest quality X-ray image of IKT 16 to date. We use this, in combination with radio and optical images, to conduct a multi-wavelength morphological analysis of the remnant. We extract separate spectra from the SNR and the bright source near its centre, and conduct spectral fitting of both regions. Results. We find IKT 16 to have a radius of 37 ± 3 pc, with the bright source located 8 ± 2 pc from the centre. This is the largest known SNR in the SMC. The large size of the remnant suggests it is likely in the Sedov-adiabatic phase of evolution. Using a Sedov model to fit the SNR spectrum, we find an electron temperature kT of 1.03 ± 0.12 keV and an age of ≈14700 yr. The absorption found requires the remnant to be located deep within the SMC. The bright source is fit with a power law with index Γ= 1.58 ± 0.07, and is associated with diffuse radio emission extending towards the centre of the SNR. We argue that this source is likely to be the neutron star remnant of the supernova explosion, and infer its transverse kick velocity to be 580 ± 100 km s −1 . The X-ray and radio properties of this source strongly favour a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) origin.

Aims. Very small asteroids (VSAs) are thought to be the building blocks of larger asteroids and, as such, are interesting to study. Many of these monolithic or deeply fractured objects display rapid rotations with periods as short as several minutes. Observations of such asteroids can reveal their spin limits, which can be related to the tensile strength of their interiors. The evolution of the spins of these objects is primarily shaped by the YORP effect, the theory of which needs comparison with observations. Methods. With the 10 m SALT telescope, we observed VSAs belonging to near-Earth asteroids. The obtained lightcurves were used to derive synodical periods of rotation, amplitudes, and elongations of these bodies. Results. Results for 14 rapidly rotating asteroids were reported in the first paper in this series. Here we show lightcurves of 2 fast rotators, 9 objects with periods ≥1 h, and a possible non-principal axis rotator. We also list negative detections that most probably indicate asteroids with long periods and/or low amplitudes. Combining our results with the data from the literature, we obtain a set of 79 near-Earth VSAs with a median period of 0.25 h (15 min). By adjusting the spin limits predicted by theory to those observations, we find tentative evidence that the tensile strengths of VSAs, after scaling them to the same size, are of the same order as the minimum tensile strengths of stony meteoroids that undergo fragmentation under the atmospheric load.

Aims. We report first results from our extensive survey of the very small (H > 21.5 mag) near-Earth asteroids. Our aim was to obtain photometric lightcurves for these faint, fast moving objects and to measure their rotation periods and amplitudes of light variations. These parameters can be used to make statistical analysis of the still little known population of the smallest asteroids, test present theories of the YORP effect as well as to study their spin limits, which are connected with their internal structure. Methods. Due to the faintness of the targets and the expected short periods of rotation, observations were performed with the large, 10-m SALT telescope in SAAO (South Africa). For most asteroids, V filter images with exposure times of 5–60 s were obtained with the instrument’s SALTICAM’s CCD camera. Even though the non-sidereal tracking was not available, the SALTICAM’s relatively large field-of-view of 8 � × 8 � helped to perform the relative photometry of the fast-moving targets. Results. The presented asteroids have synodic periods ranging from 77 s to 44 min, effective diameters from 21 to 94 m, and significantly elongated shapes.