{
  "abstract": "The standard magnetic braking (MB) model has long failed to explain key properties of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs)---including their accretion rates, the formation of ultracompact binaries, and orbital expansion---casting doubt on binary evolution and gravitational-wave progenitor predictions. Phenomenological modifications exist, but a unified, physically grounded mechanism has been missing. Here we show that the overlooked coupling between magnetic saturation and irradiation-driven winds (IDW) provides this missing framework. Accretion-powered irradiation enhances the donor wind, which in turn amplifies MB exactly where needed. Our Saturated MB + IDW (SMB+IDW) model simultaneously resolves three outstanding discrepancies with no fine-tuning: (1) it reproduces the full observed distribution of accretion rates across persistent and transient LMXBs; (2) it naturally explains ultracompact X-ray binary formation; and (3) it quantitatively matches the orbital period distribution of descendant millisecond pulsar (MSP) binaries---a critical independent test failed by all previous models. Critically, the SMB+IDW model transforms MB from an externally imposed condition into a self-consistently regulated process tied to the accretion history. By unifying LMXB evolution to MSPs in a single physical picture, our work resolves the long-standing diversity puzzle and establishes a physics-based foundation for next-generation population synthesis, gravitational-wave progenitor predictions, and compact binary interpretation across cosmic time.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.22816",
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Zhu-Ling Deng"
    },
    {
      "name": "Xiang-Dong Li"
    },
    {
      "name": "Bo Wang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Philipp Podsiadlowski"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yong Shao"
    },
    {
      "name": "Dong-Dong Liu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Zhan-Wen Han"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/33pxcqwsqq1d6.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.22816",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "33pxcqwsqq1d6",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.22816",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.HE"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.SR"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.22816",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-16",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/33pxcqwsqq1d6.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:30:32Z",
      "native_id": "2610.22816",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.22816"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.HE",
      "subfield": "high-energy-astrophysics"
    },
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.SR",
      "subfield": "stellar"
    }
  ],
  "title": "A Unified Solution to the Low-Mass X-ray Binary Diversity Puzzle: Saturated Magnetic Braking Coupled with Irradiation-Driven Winds",
  "title_text": "A Unified Solution to the Low-Mass X-ray Binary Diversity Puzzle: Saturated Magnetic Braking Coupled with Irradiation-Driven Winds",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:33:28Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/33pxcqwsqq1d6",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}