Monday 24 March 2025
A team of scientists has made a fascinating discovery about a type of star known as a millisecond pulsar. These stars are incredibly dense and spin around their axes thousands of times per second, emitting beams of radiation that can be detected from great distances.
Millisecond pulsars are formed when a massive star dies in a supernova explosion, leaving behind a neutron star that has been spun up by the gravitational pull of its companion star. The companion star is often a low-mass star like our sun, and it’s this gravitational interaction that causes the neutron star to spin so quickly.
One particular millisecond pulsar, known as J1908+2105, has caught the attention of researchers due to its unusual properties. This star is part of a binary system with a companion star that is much less massive than our sun, and it’s this low mass that makes the system particularly interesting.
The team used data from the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in India and the Parkes radio telescope in Australia to study J1908+2105. They found that the star’s radiation beams are absorbed by electrons in its companion star, causing the pulses of radiation to be interrupted as they pass through.
This absorption is known as synchrotron absorption, and it’s a sign of the intense magnetic fields and high-energy particles present near the neutron star. The team used computer simulations to model this process, and their results suggest that the minimum magnetic field required for these eclipses is around 5 Gauss – equivalent to about 50 times the strength of Earth’s magnetic field.
The study also found a correlation between the frequency at which the eclipses occur and the density of electrons in the companion star. The higher the frequency, the more dense the electrons need to be. This suggests that the electrons play a crucial role in shaping the radiation beams as they pass through the companion star.
These findings provide valuable insights into the complex interactions within binary systems like J1908+2105. By studying these interactions, scientists can better understand the behavior of neutron stars and their role in the universe. The results also highlight the importance of radio astronomy in this field, as it allows researchers to probe the properties of these extreme objects.
The study’s authors hope that their work will inspire further research into millisecond pulsars and their binary companions.
Cite this article: “Unveiling the Secrets of Millisecond Pulsar J1908+2105”, The Science Archive, 2025.
Millisecond Pulsar, Neutron Star, Supernova, Gravitational Interaction, Binary System, Companion Star, Radiation Beams, Synchrotron Absorption, Magnetic Fields, Radio Astronomy
