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Magnetic fields are extremely rare in close, hot binaries, with only 1.5 per cent of such systems known to contain a magnetic star. The eccentric ϵ Lupi system stands out in this population as the only close binary in which both stars are known to be magnetic. We report the discovery of strong variable radio emission from ϵ Lupi using the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) and the MeerKAT radio telescope. The light curve exhibits striking unique characteristics including sharp high-amplitude pulses that repeat with the orbital period, with the brightest enhancement occurring near periastron. The characteristics of the light curve point to variable levels of magnetic reconnection throughout the orbital cycle, making ϵ Lupi the first known high-mass, main sequence binary embedded in an interacting magnetosphere. We also present a previously unreported enhancement in the X-ray light curve obtained from archival XMM–Newton data. The stability of the components’ fossil magnetic fields, the firm characterization of their relatively simple configurations, and the short orbital period of the system make ϵ Lupi an ideal target to study the physics of magnetospheric interactions. This system may thus help us to illuminate the exotic plasma physics of other magnetically interacting systems such as moon–planet, planet–star, and star–star systems including T Tauri binaries, RS CVn systems, and neutron star binaries.

We present radio observations of the symbiotic recurrent nova V3890 Sagitarii following the 2019 August eruption obtained with the MeerKAT radio telescope at 1.28 GHz and Karl G. Janksy Very Large Array (VLA) at 1.26−35 GHz. The radio light curves span from day 1 to 540 days after eruption and are dominated by synchrotron emission produced by the expanding nova ejecta interacting with the dense wind from an evolved companion in the binary system. The radio emission is detected early on (day 6) and increases rapidly to a peak on day 15. The radio luminosity increases due to a decrease in the opacity of the circumstellar material in front of the shocked material and fades as the density of the surrounding medium decreases and the velocity of the shock decelerates. Modelling the light curve provides an estimated mass-loss rate of ${\overset{\hbox{$\bullet $}}{M}}_{\textrm {wind}} \approx 10^{-8}\, {\textrm {M}}_\odot ~{\textrm {yr}}^{-1}$ from the red giant star and ejecta mass in the range of Mej = 10−5––10−6 M⊙ from the surface of the white dwarf. V3890 Sgr likely hosts a massive white dwarf similar to other symbiotic recurrent novae, thus considered a candidate for supernovae type Ia (SNe Ia) progenitor. However, its radio flux densities compared to upper limits for SNe Ia have ruled it out as a progenitor for SN 2011fe like supernovae.

Blue Large-Amplitude Pulsators (BLAPs) are a relatively new class of blue variable stars showing periodic variations in their light curves with periods shorter than a few tens of minutes and amplitudes of more than 10 per cent. We report nine blue variable stars identified in the OmegaWhite survey conducted using ESO’s VST, which shows a periodic modulation in the range 7–37 min and an amplitude in the range 0.11–0.28 mag. We have obtained a series of followup photometric and spectroscopic observations made primarily using SALT and telescopes at SAAO. We find four stars which we identify as BLAPs, one of which was previously known. One star, OW  J0820–3301, appears to be a member of the V361 Hya class of pulsating stars and is spatially close to an extended nebula. One further star, OW J1819–2729, has characteristics similar to the sdAV pulsators. In contrast, OW J0815–3421 is a binary star containing an sdB and a white dwarf with an orbital period of 73.7 min, making it only one of six white dwarf-sdB binaries with an orbital period shorter than 80 min. Finally, high cadence photometry of four of the candidate BLAPs show features that we compare with notch-like features seen in the much longer period Cepheid pulsators.