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The physics at work in a neutron star can be incredibly complex. Neutrons that are well understood in the rest of the universe do strange things when they are exposed to such incredible pressure. A new analysis of what is called "nuclear pulp" suggests that the material inside a neutron star is the strongest material in the universe.
A neutron star is the dead envelope of a star more massive than the sun, but not big enough to become a black hole when it disappears. These stars have between 10 and 29 solar masses during their working lives. When they run out of their nuclear fuel and go supernova, all that remains is the ultra-dense collapsed core. We call this a neutron star.
The wild physics inside a neutron star is limited to the incredible mass accumulated in such a small space. A neutron star could have twice the mass of our sun packaged in an object located a few kilometers away. Gravity crushing has the effect of circumventing and compressing neutrons in unusual configurations, based on models developed by scientists studying neutron stars.
Scientists currently believe that neutron stars have layers characterized by different configurations of deformed neutron matter. For some reason, the researchers decided to name the different structures after the pasta. Near the surface, there are gnocchi that are round neutrons in the shape of a bubble. Go a little further and the pressure forces the neutrons into long tubes called spaghetti. Go down further and you have neutron leaves called lasagna. It's just the beginning of the interior inspired by Italy's neutron stars.
Credit: McGill University / Newsroom
Since we can not directly observe the interior of a neutron star, a team of researchers from McGill University, Indiana University and the California Institute of Technology has developed a new computer model to predict the properties of nuclear pulp. The models pushed nuclear pulps to the limits of physics on more than 2 million hours of processor. The result is clear evidence that neutrons contain the most powerful materials in the universe.
According to the models, the density of nuclear pulps is 10 billion times higher than steel. It is the most durable material in the known universe. The simulations also suggest that the instability of nuclear pulps could result in gravitational waves, which have only been confirmed during cataclysmic events such as the collision of two black holes. If astronomers can detect these subtle gravity vibrations, this could help verify the accuracy of the model. This instability also means that there is no practical use of ultra-strong nuclear pulps. It simply can not exist outside the crash pressure of a neutron star.
Now read: Astronomers come to find the largest known neutron star, scientists claim that some Ultrahot exoplanets have star-shaped atmospheres and that some of the oldest galaxies in the universe orbit around the Milky Way
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