Neutron stars have found their ability to emit powerful jets




What is happening in a distant system in the representation of the artist i>

Australian and Dutch scientists, working together in a project of the International Research Center of Radio Astronomy (ICRAR) опубликовали description of unusual binaries PSR J1023 + 0038 . One of them, superdense neutron star matter absorbs the other, and emits a релятивистские jet such power, which was previously attributed only black holes.

Black holes and neutron stars - is the most compact of the known celestial bodies. They are formed after the "death" of a star when it produces all its fuel and material remaining after combustion is compressed under its own weight in a relatively small objects. A neutron star can have a mass one and a half sunny, and the diameter of it in this case will be 10-15 km.

Most huddled star rotates very quickly. Therefore, in systems of binary stars, one of which was still burning, as usual, and the second already represents a super-dense object, the second object pulls the cloth first, and throws it with both its poles, giving the material a very high energy.

The speed of the expiry of jets close to the speed of light, so they are called relativistic jets. By the end of the mechanics of their appearance has not been studied. The reason for their appearance is often called the interaction of magnetic fields with an accretion disk around a black hole or neutron star.

Before the advent of powerful jets of this study were observed only in black holes, which managed to even the poor "material" to produce a very bright light due to the high power jets. A well-known neutron stars spawned extremely weak jets that it was almost impossible to watch.

However, the hero of our story, the system PSR J1023 + 0038, opened in 2009 during observations in 2013-2014 was fed only a small amount of matter that should not lead to anything no matter how powerful jets.

"Suddenly, monitoring with complex Very Large Array showed relatively powerful radiation, which indicates the presence of the jet almost as powerful as the jets of black holes - said Dr. Adam Teller, one of the researchers working in the Dutch Institute of Radio Astronomy ASTRON. - PSR J1023 + 0038 - a transitional neutron star, which is maintained over the years mainly due to its rotation, but gradually turns into a bright state ».

Two other systems that have been discovered shortly after this, have similar characteristics. These discoveries allow astrophysicists to change representation about life cycles, and capacity of neutron stars.

Source: geektimes.ru/post/259864/