Unusual neutron star spinning every 76 seconds discovered in stellar graveyard

An international team led by a University of Sydney scientist has discovered an unusual radio signal emitting neutron star that rotates extremely slowly, completing one rotation every 76 seconds.

Theneutron star graveyard where no pulsations are expected is where the star is unique. The discovery was made using a radio telescope in South Africa and is published in Nature Astronomy.

The star was first detected by a single pulse. It was possible to confirm multiple pulse using simultaneous images of the sky.

There are dense remnants of supernova explosions of massive stars. There are about 3000 of these in our universe. The new discovery is unlike anything seen before. The team thinks it could be part of the theorized class of ultra-long period magnetars.

The lead researcher said that they only detect radio emission from this source for a small portion of its rotation period.

It is very lucky that the radio beam intersects with the Earth.

It is likely that there are many more of these slowly spinning stars in the universe, which has important implications for understanding how neutron stars are born and age.

The majority of surveys don't look for periods this long, so we don't know how many of these stars exist.

The newly discovered neutron star is named PSR J0901-4046 and seems to have at least seven different pulse types, some of which are strongly periodic. Brief flashes of radio emission in random locations in the sky are characteristics of pulsars, ultra-long period magnetars and even fast radio bursts.

This is the beginning of a new class of stars. It's not yet known if it relates to other classes. Many more are out there. We need to only look.

More information: Manisha Caleb, Discovery of a radio-emitting neutron star with an ultra-long spin period of 76 s, Nature Astronomy (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-022-01688-x. www.nature.com/articles/s41550-022-01688-x Journal information: Nature Astronomy Citation: Unusual neutron star spinning every 76 seconds discovered in stellar graveyard (2022, May 30) retrieved 30 May 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-05-unusual-neutron-star-seconds-stellar.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.