All articles tagged with #neutron stars
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope could detect isolated neutron stars—previously invisible to most telescopes—by using astrometric microlensing during its Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey, enabling direct mass measurements and advancing understanding of neutron star and black hole populations.
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope could spot and weigh isolated neutron stars in the Milky Way using astrometric microlensing in its Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey; by tracking tiny shifts in background starlight as a neutron star passes in front, Roman can directly measure the masses of otherwise invisible remnants, helping map the neutron star–black hole population and shedding light on neutron-star birth kicks, with even a few detections significantly advancing stellar evolution models.
Scientists propose that the ultra-dense interiors of neutron stars could contain quark-gluon plasma—the same state of matter that existed moments after the Big Bang—and by analyzing how tidal forces in binary neutron-star systems imprint oscillation modes on gravitational waves, researchers hope to infer the stars’ interior structure and their equation of state, though current detectors aren’t yet sensitive enough; next‑generation observatories may confirm the presence of this exotic matter.
Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble traced a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 230906A) to a neutron-star merger inside a tiny dwarf galaxy, revealed by its placement in a long tidal tail; the finding shows such powerful explosions can occur in faint hosts and helps explain how heavy elements are dispersed into galactic outskirts.
Astronomers analyzing the GW200105 gravitational-wave signal found an eccentric, precession-lacking orbit for a black hole–neutron star binary just before merger, suggesting it was shaped by gravitational interactions with a third body and not by a quiet, isolated inspiral. Using a new model from Birmingham’s Institute of Gravitational Wave Astronomy, the team says there are likely multiple formation channels for such mixed mergers, and the event revised prior mass estimates (BH ~13 solar masses, NS ~2). The finding expands our understanding of how extreme binaries form and evolve and challenges the assumption of circular, isolated mergers.
The LVK collaboration’s GWTC-4 catalog adds 128 distant gravitational‑wave sources detected from 2023–2024, expanding beyond the previous 90; the data include heavier, faster black‑hole mergers, some lopsided in mass, and two mixed black hole–neutron star mergers, with detections up to 10 billion light‑years away, underscoring general relativity under extreme conditions and expanding our view of black‑hole populations.
A newly released, expanded catalog of gravitational-wave detections from LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA more than doubles the known events, revealing a broader population of black holes and neutron-star mergers and enabling stringent tests of Einstein’s general relativity as gravity’s effects on spacetime are probed through mass, spin, and merger dynamics. The dataset deepens our understanding of spacetime warping and paves the way for real-time data releases from the collaboration.
A new theoretical study argues that not only black holes but other ultradense objects will evaporate via Hawking radiation, shortening the universe’s remaining lifetime to about 10^78 years—far sooner than the previously estimated 10^1100 years. White dwarfs and neutron stars, along with black holes, will gradually fade through gravitational pair production, with white dwarfs and massive black holes persisting around 10^78 years and neutron stars around 10^67 years. Earth would survive roughly 5 billion more years until the Sun consumes it, after which all matter and life would ultimately vanish in the cosmic void.
Astronomers may have observed the first superkilonova, a hybrid explosion involving both a supernova and a kilonova, suggesting new insights into star death and heavy element formation, though confirmation is pending.
Astronomers may have observed a new type of astrophysical event called a superkilonova, where a star splits in half, leading to a double explosion involving neutron stars, based on observations of the event AT2025ulz, which showed signs of both supernova and kilonova phenomena.
Scientists observed a unique cosmic event where a massive star first exploded as a supernova, then its core split into two neutron stars that collided, creating a hybrid 'superkilonova' explosion, challenging existing stellar physics and offering new insights into heavy element formation.
Caltech researchers may have discovered the first superkilonova, a rare event where a star explodes twice in different ways, involving the formation of low-mass neutron stars within a supernova, followed by their merger producing a kilonova, challenging previous understanding of stellar explosions.
Astronomers have observed a rare stellar explosion, dubbed AT2025ulz, which appears to be a 'superkilonova'—a complex event involving both a supernova and a kilonova, resulting from the birth and merger of two neutron stars, challenging existing theories and potentially marking only the second such detection.
Astronomers may have detected the first superkilonova, a rare cosmic event involving the merger of two neutron stars, evidenced by a gravitational wave signal and unusual electromagnetic observations, suggesting a complex explosion that could involve sub-solar mass neutron stars. More data is needed to confirm this groundbreaking discovery.
Scientists are investigating a mysterious gamma-ray glow near the center of the Milky Way, which could either be caused by neutron stars or potentially be the first evidence of dark matter particles colliding, though conclusive proof remains elusive and further observations are planned.