May 2, 2024

MAGIC Telescopes Capture Gigantic Thermonuclear Nova Explosion

The passing away giant star feeds the white dwarf with matter shedding its external hydrogen layer as the gas streams onto the neighboring white dwarf. The dying giant star feeds the white dwarf with matter shedding its external hydrogen layer as the gas streams onto the close-by white dwarf.” This also makes nova outbursts a source of cosmic rays,” describes David Green.

Nova outbursts are obviously a source for cosmic rays.
The MAGIC telescopes have observed the nova RS Ophiuchi shining brilliantly in gamma rays at very high energy. The Gamma rays emanate from protons that are sped up to extremely high energies in the shock front following the explosion. This suggests that novae are likewise a source of the common cosmic radiation in the universe which consists primarily of protons abundant in energy, which race through space at almost the speed of light.
Light on, light off– this is how one might explain the habits of the nova, which goes by the name RS Ophiuchi (RS Oph). Every 15 years approximately, a dramatic surge happens in the constellation of the Serpent Bearer. Birth places of a nova are systems in which two very various stars live in a parasitic relationship: A white dwarf, a little, burned-out and greatly dense star– a teaspoon of its matter is around the very same weight as a middle size vehicle– orbits a red giant, a star that will quickly burn up.

Artwork of the binary star system RS Ophiuchi: Matter streams from the red giant onto the white dwarf. The newly included outstanding envelopes take off in an intense nova about every 15 years. Credit: superbossa.com/MPP
The dying giant star feeds the white dwarf with matter shedding its external hydrogen layer as the gas streams onto the nearby white dwarf. The dwarf star stays intact and the cycle starts once again– until the phenomenon repeats itself.
It had been speculated that such explosions include high energies. The 2 MAGIC telescopes recorded gamma rays with the worth of 250 gigaelectronvolts (GeV), amongst the highest energies ever determined in a nova. By comparison, the radiation is a hundred billion times more energetic than visible light.
The binary star system RS Ophiuchi consists of a white dwarf and a red giant. The passing away giant star feeds the white dwarf with matter shedding its outer hydrogen layer as the gas flows onto the close-by white dwarf. This flow of matter continues, until the white dwarf over( h) consumes itself. The temperature level and pressure in the newly gained outstanding shells end up being too large and are flung away in a massive thermonuclear surge. The dwarf star remains undamaged and the cycle starts once again– until the spectacle repeats itself. Credit: superbossa.com/MPP
MAGIC was able to make its observations following initial notifies from other instruments determining at various wavelengths. “The spectacular eruption of the RS Ophiuchi shows that the MAGIC telescopes fast response actually pays off: It takes them no greater than 30 seconds to relocate to a brand-new target,” said David Green, a researcher at limit Planck Institute for Physics and one of the authors of the paper in Nature Astronomy.
After the surge, a number of shock fronts propagated through the excellent wind from the Red Giant and the interstellar medium surrounding the double star. These shock waves work like a giant power plant in which particles are accelerated to near the speed of light. The combined measurements recommend that the gamma rays originate from energetic protons, nuclei of hydrogen atoms.
” This likewise makes nova outbursts a source of cosmic rays,” explains David Green. “However, they tend to play the role of regional heroes– implying to only add to the cosmic rays in the close neighborhood. The big players for cosmic rays are supernova residues. The shock fronts produced from outstanding surges are much more violent compared to novae.
To fully comprehend the complex interaction of violent occasions with the interstellar medium in the Milky Way, more observations like those reported now will be essential. The MAGIC cooperation will for that reason continue to look for “agitated” things in our Galaxy and beyond.
Recommendation: “Proton velocity in atomic nova surges revealed by gamma rays” by V. A. Acciari, S. Ansoldi, L. A. Antonelli, A. Arbet Engels, M. Artero, K. Asano, D. Baack, A. Babic, A. Baquero, U. Barres de Almeida, J. A. Barrio, I. Batkovic, J. Becerra González, W. Bednarek, L. Bellizzi, E. Bernardini, M. Bernardos, A. Berti, J. Besenrieder, W. Bhattacharyya, C. Bigongiari, A. Biland, O. Blanch, H. Bökenkamp, G. Bonnoli, Ž. Bošnjak, G. Busetto, R. Carosi, G. Ceribella, M. Cerruti, Y. Chai, A. Chilingarian, S. Cikota, S. M. Colak, E. Colombo, J. L. Contreras, J. Cortina, S. Covino, G. DAmico, V. DElia, P. Da Vela, F. Dazzi, A. De Angelis, B. De Lotto, A. Del Popolo, M. Delfino, J. Delgado, C. Delgado Mendez, D. Depaoli, F. Di Pierro, L. Di Venere, E. Do Souto Espiñeira, D. Dominis Prester, A. Donini, D. Dorner, M. Doro, D. Elsaesser, V. Fallah Ramazani, L. Fariña Alonso, A. Fattorini, M. V. Fonseca, L. Font, C. Fruck, S. Fukami, Y. Fukazawa, R. J. García López, M. Garczarczyk, S. Gasparyan, M. Gaug, N. Giglietto, F. Giordano, P. Gliwny, N. Godinovic, J. G. Green, D. Green, D. Hadasch, A. Hahn, T. Hassan, L. Heckmann, J. Herrera, J. Hoang, D. Hrupec, M. Hütten, T. Inada, K. Ishio, Y. Iwamura, I. Jiménez Martínez, J. Jormanainen, L. Jouvin, D. Kerszberg, Y. Kobayashi, H. Kubo, J. Kushida, A. Lamastra, D. Lelas, F. Leone, E. Lindfors, L. Linhoff, S. Lombardi, F. Longo, R. López-Coto, M. López-Moya, A. López-Oramas, S. Loporchio, B. Machado de Oliveira Fraga, C. Maggio, P. Majumdar, M. Makariev, M. Mallamaci, G. Maneva, M. Manganaro, K. Mannheim, L. Maraschi, M. Mariotti, M. Martínez, A. Mas Aguilar, D. Mazin, S. Menchiari, S. Mender, S. Micanovic, D. Miceli, T. Miener, J. M. Miranda, R. Mirzoyan, E. Molina, A. Moralejo, D. Morcuende, V. Moreno, E. Moretti, T. Nakamori, L. Nava, V. Neustroev, M. Nievas Rosillo, C. Nigro, K. Nilsson, K. Nishijima, K. Noda, S. Nozaki, Y. Ohtani, T. Oka, J. Otero-Santos, S. Paiano, M. Palatiello, D. Paneque, R. Paoletti, J. M. Paredes, L. Pavletic, P. Peñil, M. Persic, M. Pihet, P. G. Prada Moroni, E. Prandini, C. Priyadarshi, I. Puljak, W. Rhode, M. Ribó, J. Rico, C. Righi, A. Rugliancich, N. Sahakyan, T. Saito, S. Sakurai, K. Satalecka, F. G. Saturni, B. Schleicher, K. Schmidt, T. Schweizer, J. Sitarek, I. Šnidaric, D. Sobczynska, A. Spolon, A. Stamerra, J. Striškovic, D. Strom, M. Strzys, Y. Suda, T. Suric, M. Takahashi, R. Takeishi, F. Tavecchio, P. Temnikov, T. Terzic, M. Teshima, L. Tosti, S. Truzzi, A. Tutone, S. Ubach, J. van Scherpenberg, G. Vanzo, M. Vazquez Acosta, S. Ventura, V. Verguilov, C. F. Vigorito, V. Vitale, I. Vovk, M. Will, C. Wunderlich, T. Yamamoto, D. Zaric, F. Ambrosino, M. Cecconi, G. Catanzaro, C. Ferrara, A. Frasca, M. Munari, L. Giustolisi, J. Alonso-Santiago, M. Giarrusso, U. Munari and P. Valisa, 14 April 2022, Nature Astronomy.DOI: 10.1038/ s41550-022-01640-z.

The MAGIC telescopes have observed the nova RS Ophiuchi shining brightly in gamma rays at exceptionally high energy. Birthplaces of a nova are systems in which 2 very various stars live in a parasitic relationship: A white dwarf, a small, burned-out and significantly thick star– a teaspoon of its matter is around the exact same weight as a middle size car– orbits a red giant, a star that will soon burn up.