Datasets:
license: cc-by-4.0
pretty_name: X-ray Binary Catalog
language:
- en
description: >-
Merged catalog of high-mass and low-mass X-ray binaries from HEASARC (Liu et
al. 2006/2007)
task_categories:
- tabular-classification
tags:
- space
- x-ray-binary
- hmxb
- lmxb
- x-ray
- astronomy
- compact-object
- neutron-star
- black-hole
- open-data
- tabular-data
- parquet
size_categories:
- n<1K
configs:
- config_name: default
data_files:
- split: train
path: data/xray-binaries.parquet
default: true
X-ray Binary Catalog
Credit: NASA/ESA/Hubble
Part of the Astronomy Datasets and Stellar Catalogs collections on Hugging Face.
Merged catalog of 305 X-ray binaries (116 high-mass, 189 low-mass) from NASA HEASARC, combining the HMXB catalog (Liu, van Paradijs & van den Heuvel 2006) and the LMXB catalog (Liu, van Paradijs & van den Heuvel 2007).
Dataset description
X-ray binaries are stellar systems in which a compact object (neutron star or black hole) accretes matter from a companion star, producing intense X-ray emission. They are divided into two classes based on the mass of the donor star:
High-Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs): The donor is a massive O or B star (typically >10 solar masses). Accretion occurs via stellar wind or Roche lobe overflow. HMXBs are found in star-forming regions and include Be/X-ray binaries (the largest subclass) and supergiant X-ray binaries.
Low-Mass X-ray Binaries (LMXBs): The donor is a low-mass star (typically <1 solar mass). Accretion proceeds through Roche lobe overflow, forming a bright accretion disk. LMXBs are concentrated toward the Galactic center and globular clusters. They include the Z and Atoll sources (classified by their X-ray color-color diagrams) and the soft X-ray transients.
X-ray binaries are natural laboratories for studying accretion physics, strong gravity, and the equation of state of ultra-dense matter. Their X-ray variability (pulsations, quasi-periodic oscillations, thermonuclear bursts) encodes information about the compact object's mass, spin, and magnetic field. Several black hole mass measurements come from dynamical studies of X-ray binary orbits.
This dataset merges the two standard reference catalogs maintained at HEASARC, providing a unified view of the known Galactic X-ray binary population with positions, X-ray fluxes, orbital periods, and companion star classifications.
Schema
| Column | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
__row |
string | |
name |
string | Source designation / common name |
xray_type |
string | |
ra |
float | Right ascension (J2000, degrees) |
dec |
float | Declination (J2000, degrees) |
lii |
string | Galactic longitude (degrees) |
bii |
string | Galactic latitude (degrees) |
position_type |
string | |
optical_name |
string | |
ref_optical |
string | |
vmag_limit |
string | |
vmag |
string | Visual magnitude of the optical counterpart |
vmag_min |
string | |
vmag_flag |
string | |
bv_color |
string | |
bv_color_flag |
string | |
bv_color_max |
string | |
ub_color |
string | |
reddening |
string | |
reddening_max |
string | |
reddening_flag |
string | |
ref_photometry |
string | |
jmag |
string | |
hmag_limit |
string | |
hmag |
string | |
kmag_limit |
string | |
kmag |
string | |
fx_limit |
string | |
fx |
string | |
fx_max |
string | |
fx_range |
string | |
ref_fx |
string | |
porb |
string | |
porb_flag |
string | |
pulse_per |
string | |
pulse_per_flag |
string | |
ref_periods |
string | |
spect_type |
string | |
alt_name_1 |
string | |
alt_name_1_flag |
string | |
alt_name_2 |
string | |
alt_name_3 |
string | |
class |
string | Source classification (e.g., Be/X, SFXT, Atoll, Z) |
__x_ra_dec |
string | |
__y_ra_dec |
string | |
__z_ra_dec |
string | |
binary_type |
string | Binary type: HMXB or LMXB |
ref_optical_name |
string | |
reddening_limit |
string | |
flux_limit |
string | |
flux |
float | X-ray flux (mCrab or source-specific units) |
flux_max |
string | |
flux_range |
string | |
ref_flux |
string | |
pulse_period |
string | |
lmxb_notes |
string |
Quick stats
- 305 X-ray binaries total
- 116 High-Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXB)
- 189 Low-Mass X-ray Binaries (LMXB)
Usage
from datasets import load_dataset
ds = load_dataset("juliensimon/xray-binary-catalog", split="train")
df = ds.to_pandas()
# Count by type
print(df["binary_type"].value_counts())
# HMXBs vs LMXBs
hmxb = df[df["binary_type"] == "HMXB"]
lmxb = df[df["binary_type"] == "LMXB"]
print(f"{len(hmxb):,} HMXBs, {len(lmxb):,} LMXBs")
# Sky distribution
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(12, 6))
for btype, group in df.groupby("binary_type"):
ax.scatter(group["ra"], group["dec"], s=5, alpha=0.7, label=btype)
ax.set_xlabel("RA (deg)")
ax.set_ylabel("Dec (deg)")
ax.legend()
ax.set_title("X-ray Binary Sky Distribution")
Data source
All data comes from the HEASARC X-ray binary catalogs:
- HMXB Catalog (hmxbcat) — Liu, van Paradijs & van den Heuvel (2006)
- LMXB Catalog (lmxbcat) — Liu, van Paradijs & van den Heuvel (2007)
Accessed via the HEASARC TAP protocol.
Update schedule
Quarterly (February, May, August, November 1st at 08:00 UTC) via GitHub Actions.
Related datasets
- pulsar-catalog — ATNF Pulsar Catalog
- mcgill-magnetar-catalog — McGill Magnetar Catalog
- chandra-x-ray-sources — Chandra Source Catalog
- gravitational-wave-events — LIGO/Virgo GW Events
Pipeline
Source code: juliensimon/space-datasets
Support
If you find this dataset useful, please give it a heart on the dataset page and share feedback in the Community tab! Also consider giving a star to the space-datasets repo.
Citation
@dataset{xray_binary_catalog,
author = {Simon, Julien},
title = {X-ray Binary Catalog},
year = {2026},
publisher = {Hugging Face},
url = {https://huggingface.co/datasets/juliensimon/xray-binary-catalog},
note = {Based on HEASARC HMXB (Liu et al. 2006) and LMXB (Liu et al. 2007) catalogs}
}