Abstract By simulating the evolution of spin periods of magnetized neutron stars which interact with their environment in binary systems, we investigate the Galactic population of high mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs). The number of HMXBs in the Galaxy is between 190 and 240, and their birthrate is from 5.9 × 10-5 yr-1 to 6.3 × 10-5 yr-1 . Comparing the Corbet diagram (the positions of the spin periods vs. the orbital periods of HMXBs ) in our model with the associated observations, we find that the stellar wind structure and the process of matter transfer are very important for understanding HMXBs.

Keywords stars: evolution — X-rays: binaries — Galaxy: stellar content

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