Spectra of high-mass X-ray binaries

High-mass X-ray binaries are bright X-ray sources. The high-energy emission is caused by the accretion of matter from the massive companion onto a neutron star. The accreting material comes from either the strong stellar wind in binaries with supergiant companions or the circumstellar disk in Be/X-ray binaries. In either case, the H{alpha} line stands out as the main source of information about the state of the accreting material. We present the results of our monitoring program to study the long-term variability of the H{alpha} line in high-mass X-ray binaries. Our aim is to characterise the optical variability timescales and study the interaction between the neutron star and the accreting…