Tag

Magnetar

All articles tagged with #magnetar

astronomy1 day ago•120 min saved

Einstein Probe Captures Record 10-Minute X-Ray Flash from Neutron Star Merger

Astronomers identified a 10-minute X-ray burst from a distant galaxy as the result of two neutron stars colliding. Detected by the Einstein Probe in July 2025, the event, designated EP250704a, featured a brief gamma-ray flash followed by prolonged X-ray emission. Researchers suggest the merger created a magnetar, a highly magnetized neutron star, which powered the extended activity. This discovery reveals a previously hidden phase of neutron star mergers, offering new insights into the formation of heavy elements and the nature of compact object remnants.

via Space|

#astronomy #einstein-probe #ep250704a

science1 month ago•19 min saved

Magnetar Observations Turn Empty Space Into a Quantum Prism

Using IXPE X-ray polarization data and Parkes radio constraints for magnetar 1E 1547.0−5408, researchers find polarization consistent with vacuum birefringence predicted by quantum electrodynamics, marking the strongest evidence to date that empty space behaves like a birefringent medium in ultra-strong magnetic fields—though not a final proof and tied to geometry and models.

via Space Daily|

#ixpe #magnetar #polarization

science1 month ago•3 min saved

Magnetar Polarization Sheds Light on Quantum Vacuum

Astronomers report what may be the first evidence of vacuum birefringence, a quantum effect predicted by Heisenberg, by observing highly polarized X-rays and radio waves from magnetar 1E 1547.0-5408 with IXPE, NICER, and Parkes. The extreme magnetic field around the magnetar aligns virtual particles, causing polarization to correlate with the star’s magnetic axis and offering a natural laboratory to test quantum physics—though further data and simulations are needed to confirm the finding.

via Universe Today|

#heisenberg #magnetar #polarization

space-and-astronomy1 month ago•53 min saved

Magnetar Lights Up Space-Time: First Clear Proof of Vacuum Birefringence

Observations of a highly magnetic magnetar (1E 1547-5408) with NASA’s IXPE show X-ray polarization nearly three times higher than typical neutron-star emission and aligned with the star’s magnetic field, providing the strongest evidence yet that vacuum birefringence occurs—empty space acting like a prism under extreme magnetic fields. This long-predicted quantum effect, rooted in Heisenberg and Euler’s work from 1936, tests quantum electrodynamics in nature’s most extreme laboratories and motivates future missions (e.g., GoSOX) to confirm the finding.

via Yahoo|

#ixpe #magnetar #polarization

science1 month ago•160 min saved

Magnetar’s polarized light tests quantum vacuum, solving a 90-year mystery

New observations of magnetar 1E 1547-5408 with IXPE and other telescopes show X-ray polarization about three times higher than standard models and aligned with the star’s magnetic field, providing strong evidence for vacuum birefringence — the idea that empty space behaves like a prism under ultra-strong magnetic fields and a prediction dating back to Heisenberg and Euler nearly 90 years ago; the findings test fundamental physics and future missions like GoSOX may help confirm the effect and illuminate the fabric of reality.

via Space|

#ixpe #magnetar #polarization

science1 month ago•12 min saved

Magnetar Polarization Tests Quantum Vacuum: Evidence of Vacuum Birefringence

Astronomers observing magnetar 1E 1547.0–5408 with IXPE and NICER detected strong X-ray polarization aligned with the star's magnetic field, matching predictions for vacuum birefringence, a long-predicted quantum electrodynamics effect where empty space behaves like a birefringent medium under extreme magnetic fields. While this could be the first direct test of the effect, researchers caution that other magnetar processes could mimic the signal and more data are needed to confirm the finding.

via SciTechDaily|

#magnetar #polarization #quantum-electrodynamics

science3 months ago•12 min saved

Astronomers catch a magnetar being born inside a supernova via a rapid brightness chirp

Astronomers observed a distinctive four-peaked, accelerating ‘chirp’ in the light from supernova SN 2024afav, interpreted as the birth of a magnetar—an ultra-mense, highly magnetized neutron star—hidden in the exploding star. The signal fits a model where material falling back formed a tilted accretion disk around the magnetar, whose frame-dragging (Lense–Thirring precession) causes the disk to wobble and periodically modulate the supernova’s brightness. From this, the magnetar is inferred to rotate about 4.2 milliseconds and possess a magnetic field about 300 trillion times stronger than Earth's. While this provides strong evidence for magnetars powering some superluminous supernovae, it may not apply to all such events, and future surveys like the Rubin Observatory will seek more examples to map how often magnetars form in stellar explosions.

via Space Daily|

#chirp #lense-thirring-precession #magnetar

science3 months ago•5 min saved

First Magnetar Birth Seen in Chirping Supernova

Astronomers monitored SN 2024afav for about 200 days and observed four distinct brightness bumps—the object's light curve chirp—best explained by a newborn magnetar with a tilted accretion disk that undergoes Lense-Thirring precession, a relativistic effect that modulates emitted light. This provides the first direct evidence that magnetars power some superluminous supernovae, supporting Dan Kasen's 2010 theory; the magnetar spins ~4.2 milliseconds with a magnetic field around 3×10^14 gauss. The discovery, published in Nature, confirms GR's role in a stellar explosion and suggests future surveys (e.g., Rubin Observatory) will uncover many more chirping events.

via ScienceDaily|

#general-relativity #lense-thirring #magnetar

science-space3 months ago•13 min saved

2004 magnetar flare delivered Sun-scale energy to Earth in 0.2 seconds

A December 27, 2004 giant flare from magnetar SGR 1806-20, though tens of thousands of light-years away, saturated satellites and briefly disturbed Earth’s ionosphere. In the first 0.2 seconds the flare released energy comparable to the Sun’s output over about 250,000 years. Follow-up observations showed a pulsating tail tied to the magnetar’s rotation, with distance estimates later revised, complicating exact energy figures. The event also illustrated how a Galactic magnetar flare can resemble a short gamma-ray burst if viewed from afar, but it posed no danger to Earth and remains a key, well-documented case for magnetar physics and energy release mechanisms.

via Space Daily|

#energy #gamma-ray-burst #ionosphere

space4 months ago•74 min saved

Magnetar-powered gamma glow lights up a distant supernova

NASA’s Fermi detected gamma rays from the luminous core-collapse supernova SN 2017egm (NGC 3191, about 440 million light-years away), supporting the idea that a newborn magnetar—an ultra‑magnetized neutron star—powers the explosion. A magnetar wind nebula and related particle interactions could boost gamma-ray production and reprocess energy into visible light, explaining the unusually bright display; gamma rays begin to leak out as debris expands, with the early light curve matching models though late-time fading remains puzzling. The study also notes the upcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array could detect similar events up to ~500 million light-years, advancing understanding of magnetar engines. The work appeared in Astronomy & Astrophysics on May 20, 2026.

via Space|

#gamma-rays #magnetar #neutron-star

space6 months ago•70 min saved

Birth of a Magnetar Captured Inside a Brilliant Supernova

Astronomers have for the first time witnessed the birth of a magnetar—an ultra-strongly magnetized neutron star—at the heart of a rare, superluminous supernova (SN 2024afav). The event’s peculiar light curve, including four diminishing “chirps” caused by a Lense–Thirring precession of a disk around the newborn magnetar, provides the first observational link between such births and magnetar-powered superluminous explosions, with the object estimated to spin ~4.2 milliseconds and harbor a magnetic field about 300 trillion times Earth's.

via Live Science|

#general-relativity #lense-thirring #magnetar

astronomy7 months ago•56 min saved

Magnetar birth confirmed inside colossal supernova

Astronomers have confirmed the births of a magnetar—a highly magnetized, rapidly spinning neutron star—within a rapidly bright supernova, SN 2024afav. Analysis of the 200‑day light curve revealed four chirps caused by a wobbling accretion disk around the newborn magnetar, with general relativity’s frame‑dragging explaining the timing. The magnetar spins about 238 times per second and possesses a magnetic field hundreds of trillions of times stronger than Earth's, providing definitive evidence for the magnetar–superluminous supernova connection.

via Space|

#astronomy #general-relativity #magnetar

astronomy-and-astrophysics7 months ago•4 min saved

Magnetar wobble could power the universe's brightest supernovae

Observations of an ultra-bright supernova suggest a wobbling magnetar engine, caused by Lense–Thirring precession, could explain why some supernovae are 10–100 times brighter than expected.

via Nature|

#astronomy #astronomy-and-astrophysics #lense-thirring

science7 months ago•26 min saved

Frame-dragging magnetar powers a superluminous supernova

High-cadence observations of the SLSN-I SN 2024afav reveal chirped light-curve bumps linked to a magnetar central engine with an infalling disk undergoing Lense–Thirring precession. Modeling constrains the magnetar’s spin to about 4.2 ms and its magnetic field to ~1.6×10^14 G, providing the first observational evidence of LT frame-dragging in a magnetar’s environment and supporting magnetar spin-down as the source of extreme luminosity in SLSNe-I.

via Nature|

#accretion-disk #lense-thirring #magnetar

business7 months ago•3 min saved

CoreWeave Dips After Mixed Q4 as Debt Burden Mounts

CoreWeave posted a Q4 revenue beat of $1.57 billion and an adjusted loss of 56 cents per share, but its debt ballooned toward $30 billion and interest costs rose, weighing on the stock which fell about 7% after hours as early investor Magnetar continues selling shares.

via Barron's|

#business #coreweave #debt