in binaries [1][2][3] . If the orbital period of the binary is short enough, energy losses from gravitational wave radiation can shrink the orbit until the two white dwarfs come into contact and merge 4 . Depending on the masses of the coalescing white dwarfs, the merger can lead to a supernova of type Ia, or it can give birth to a massive white dwarf 5 . In the latter case, the white dwarf remnant is expected to be highly magnetised 6,7 due to the strong dynamo that may arise during the merger, and rapidly rotating due to conservation of the orbital angular momentum of the binary 8 . Here we report the discovery of a white dwarf, ZTF J190132.9+145808.7, which presents all these properties, but to an extreme: a rotation period of 6.94 minutes, one of the shortest measured for an isolated white dwarf 9, 10 , a magnetic field ranging between 600 MG and 900 MG over its surface, one of the highest fields ever detected on a white dwarf 11 , and a stellar radius of 1810 km, slightly larger than the radius of the Moon. Such a small radius implies the star's mass is the closest ever detected to the white dwarf maximum mass, or Chandrasekhar mass 12 . In fact, as the white dwarf cools and its composition stratifies, it may become unstable and collapse due to electron capture, exploding into a thermonuclear supernova or collapsing into a neutron star. Neutron stars born in this fashion could account for ∼10% of their total population.The Zwicky Transient Facility [13][14][15] (ZTF) is a synoptic optical survey that uses the 48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope of the Palomar Observatory to image the Northern sky on a regular basis.We discovered ZTF J190132.9+145808.7 (hereafter ZTF J1901+1458) during a search for fast variability in massive white dwarfs. To this end, we selected objects in a white dwarf catalogue 16 that lie below the main white dwarf cooling sequence in the Gaia 17 color-magnitude diagram (CMD,

Using photometry collected with the Zwicky Transient Facility, we are conducting an ongoing survey for binary systems with short orbital periods (with the goal of identifying new gravitational-wave sources detectable by the upcoming Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). We present a sample of 15 binary systems discovered thus far, with orbital periods ranging from 6.91 to 56.35 minutes. Of the 15 systems, seven are eclipsing systems that do not show signs of significant mass transfer. Additionally, we have discovered two AM Canum Venaticorum systems and six systems exhibiting primarily ellipsoidal variations in their lightcurves. We present follow-up spectroscopy and highspeed photometry confirming the nature of these systems, estimates of their LISA signal-to-noise ratios, and a discussion of their physical characteristics. Unified Astronomy Thesaurus concepts: Compact binary stars (283); Close binary stars (254); Interacting binary stars (801); Eclipsing binary stars (444); Ellipsoidal variable stars (455); Gravitational wave sources (677); White dwarf stars (1799)

ABSTRACTeXTP is a science mission designed to study the state of matter under extreme conditions of density, gravity and magnetism. Primary goals are the determination of the equation of state of matter at supra-nuclear density, the measurement of QED effects in highly magnetized star, and the study of accretion in the strong-field regime of gravity. Primary targets include isolated and binary neutron stars, strong magnetic field systems like magnetars, and stellar-mass and supermassive black holes. The mission carries a unique and unprecedented suite of state-of-the-art scientific instruments enabling for the first time ever the simultaneous spectral-timing-polarimetry studies of cosmic sources in the energy range from 0.5-30 keV (and beyond). Key elements of the payload are: the Spectroscopic Focusing Array (SFA) -a set of 11 X-ray optics for a total effective area of ∼0.9 m 2 and 0.6 m 2 at 2 keV and 6 keV respectively, equipped with Silicon Drift Detectors offering <180 eV spectral resolution; the Large Area Detector (LAD) -a deployable set of 640 Silicon Drift Detectors, for a total effective area of ∼3.4 m 2 , between 6 and 10 keV, and spectral resolution better than 250 eV; the Polarimetry Focusing Array (PFA) -a set of 2 X-ray telescope, for a total effective area of 250 cm 2 at 2 keV, equipped with imaging gas pixel photoelectric polarimeters; the Wide Field Monitor (WFM) -a set of 3 coded mask wide field units, equipped with position-sensitive Silicon Drift Detectors, each covering a 90 degrees x 90 degrees field of view. The eXTP international consortium includes major institutions of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Universities in China, as well as major institutions in several European countries and the United States. The predecessor of eXTP, the XTP mission concept, has been selected and funded as one of the so-called background missions in the Strategic Priority Space Science Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences since 2011. The strong European participation has significantly enhanced the scientific capabilities of eXTP. The planned launch date of the mission is earlier than 2025.

Using parallaxes from Gaia DR2, we estimate the distance to the globular clusters 47 Tuc and NGC 362, taking advantage of the background stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud and quasars to account for various parallax systematics. We found the parallax to be dependent on the Gaia DR2 G-band apparent magnitude for stars with 13 < G < 18, where brighter stars have a lower parallax zero point than fainter stars. The distance to 47 Tuc was found to be 4.45 ± 0.01 ± 0.12 kpc, and for NGC 362 8.54 ± 0.20 ± 0.44 kpc with random and systematic errors listed respectively. This is the first time a precise distance measurement directly using parallaxes has been determined for either of these two globular clusters.

In this paper, we analyze stellar proper motions in the core of the globular cluster 47 Tucanae to explore the possibility of an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) influence on the stellar dynamics. Our use of short-wavelength photometry affords us an exceedingly clear view of stellar motions into the very center of the crowded core, yielding proper motions for >50,000 stars in the central 2 . We model the velocity dispersion profile of the cluster using an isotropic Jeans model. The density distribution is taken as a central IMBH point mass added to a combination of King templates. We individually model the general low-mass cluster objects (main-sequence/giant stars), as well as the concentrated populations of heavy binary systems and dark stellar remnants. Using unbinned likelihood model fitting, we find that the inclusion of the concentrated populations in our model plays a crucial role in fitting for an IMBH mass. The concentrated binaries and stellar-mass black holes (BHs) produce a sufficient velocity dispersion signal in the core so as to make an IMBH unnecessary to fit the observations. We additionally determine that a stellar-mass BH retention fraction of 8.5% becomes incompatible with our observed velocities in the core.