This artists impression illustrates the ultimate fate of HD 45166 after its core has actually collapsed, leading to a neutron star with a magnetic field of around 100 trillion gauss– the most powerful type of magnet in the Universe. Credit: NOIRLab/AURA/NSF/ P. Marenfeld/M. Zamani
The Link in between Helium Stars and Magnetars
New observations by a team of astronomers, consisting of NSFs NOIRLabs André-Nicolas Chené, might shed crucial light on the origin of these magnetic powerhouses. This unusual variation of a Wolf-Rayet star might be the precursor of a magnetar.
Chené elaborated, “For the very first time, a strong electromagnetic field was discovered in a massive helium star. Our research study recommends that this helium star will end its life as a magnetar.”
Mysteries of HD 45166
In spite of analysis from astronomers for over a century, the true nature of this star, named HD 45166, remained mainly unknown. Only fundamental truths had actually been uncovered, including that it was helium-rich, somewhat larger than our Sun, and a part of a binary system.
This artists impression illustrates how, in a couple of million years, HD 45166 will take off as a very intense, but not especially energetic, supernova. During this surge, its core will contract, trapping and focusing the stars currently intimidating electromagnetic field lines. Credit: NOIRLab/AURA/NSF/ P. Marenfeld/M. Zamani
” This star ended up being a bit of a fixation of mine,” stated Tomer Shenar, an astronomer at the University of Amsterdam and lead author of a research study published in the journal Science. Having actually studied similar helium-rich stars before, Shenar was captivated by the unusual qualities of HD 45166, which has some of the attributes of a Wolf-Rayet star, but with a special spectral signature. He thought that magnetic fields could explain these difficult characteristics. “I remember having a Eureka moment while reading the literature: What if the star is magnetic?,” he stated.
Shenar, Chené, and their collaborators set out to test this hypothesis by taking brand-new spectroscopic observations of this star system with the CFHT. By also studying its interactions with its companion star, the group were able to make exact quotes of its mass and age.
NOIRLab astronomer André-Nicolas Chené, discusses how astronomers have actually found an extremely unusual star that has the most powerful magnetic field ever discovered in a huge star– and that might become one of the most magnetic things in the Universe: a variant of a neutron star known as a magnetar. This finding marks the discovery of a new type of huge things– an enormous magnetic helium star– and sheds light on the origin of magnetars. Credit: NOIRLab/AURA/NSF/ P. Marenfeld
The researchers speculate that, unlike other helium stars that eventually evolve from a red supergiant, this specific star was likely developed by the merger of a set of intermediate-mass stars.
” This is a really specific circumstance, and it raises the question of the number of magnetars come from comparable systems and how lots of come from other kinds of systems,” said Chené.
Future of HD 45166 and Magnetar Origins
In numerous million years, HD 45166, which is situated 3000 light-years away in the constellation Monoceros (the Unicorn), will explode as an extremely intense, however not especially energetic, supernova. During this surge, its core will contract, trapping and focusing the stars already intimidating electromagnetic field lines. The result will be a neutron star with an electromagnetic field of around 100 trillion gauss– the most powerful type of magnet in the Universe.
” We thought that the most likely magnetar candidates would originate from the most massive of stars,” said Chené. “What this research shows us is that stars that are much less huge can still end up being a magnetar, if the conditions are perfect.”
For more on this research, see Massive Magnetic Helium Stars: A New Type of Astronomical Object.
Reference: “An enormous helium star with an adequately strong magnetic field to form a magnetar” by Tomer Shenar, Gregg A. Wade, Pablo Marchant, Stefano Bagnulo, Julia Bodensteiner, Dominic M. Bowman, Avishai Gilkis, Norbert Langer, André Nicolas-Chené, Lidia Oskinova, Timothy Van Reeth, Hugues Sana, Nicole St-Louis, Alexandre Soares de Oliveira, Helge Todt and Silvia Toonen, 17 August 2023, Science.DOI: 10.1126/ science.ade3293.
Notes.
This artists impression reveals a highly uncommon star that is destined to become one of the most magnetic items in the Universe: a variation of a neutron star called a magnetar. This finding marks the discovery of a brand-new type of huge object– an enormous magnetic helium star– and clarifies the origin of magnetars. In a couple of million years, HD 45166 will blow up as a really brilliant, however not especially energetic, supernova. During this explosion, its core will contract, trapping and concentrating the stars already daunting magnetic field lines. The result will be a neutron star with an electromagnetic field far greater than its progenitor. Credit: NOIRLab/AURA/NSF/ P. Marenfeld/M. Zamani
Research team recognizes an extremely uncommon star that might develop into a magnetar– the most magnetic object in the recognized Universe.
Astronomers found an extremely unusual star that has the most effective magnetic field ever found in a massive star– which might turn into one of the most magnetic items in the Universe: a variant of a neutron star referred to as a magnetar. This finding marks the discovery of a brand-new kind of huge item– an enormous magnetic helium star– and clarifies the origin of magnetars.
Comprehending Neutron Stars and Magnetars
Neutron stars are the thick remnants left behind by a huge star after it explodes in a supernova. Some neutron stars, known as magnetars, likewise declare the record for the strongest magnetic fields of any object.
Neutron stars are the thick residues left behind by a huge star after it blows up in a supernova. Some neutron stars, known as magnetars, likewise claim the record for the strongest magnetic fields of any things. Having actually studied similar helium-rich stars before, Shenar was fascinated by the unusual characteristics of HD 45166, which has some of the characteristics of a Wolf-Rayet star, however with an unique spectral signature. NOIRLab astronomer André-Nicolas Chené, discusses how astronomers have actually found a highly unusual star that has the most effective magnetic field ever found in an enormous star– and that might end up being one of the most magnetic things in the Universe: a variant of a neutron star understood as a magnetar. The outcome will be a neutron star with a magnetic field of around 100 trillion gauss– the most effective type of magnet in the Universe.
The team likewise counted on key archive information taken with the Fiber-fed Extended Range Optical Spectrograph (FEROS) at ESOs La Silla Observatory in Chile.
Gauss is a system of measurement of magnetic induction, also called magnetic flux density (essentially, a step of magnetic strength). The Suns typical polar electromagnetic field is 1– 2 gauss, while sunspots can achieve a magnetic field strength of around 3000 gauss.
