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According to a press release from the university, Purdue researchers believe that the great brightness resulting from a recent supernova is due to the formation of a new star.
Following the cosmic explosion of a star, called supernova, astronomers often observe various artifacts from the explosion for long periods after the event itself, such as a increased brightness resulting from a combination of gaseous remains of the explosion and hydrogen. .
Dan Milisavljevic, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, notes that the resulting brilliance in the six years following the supernova SN 2012 brought the researchers to think that all did not seem to be the case.
"We have not seen an explosion of this type, on such a late time scale, remaining visible unless there is an interaction with the hydrogen gas left by the star before the explosion," he said. "But there is no spectral peak of hydrogen in the data – something else was stimulating this thing."
In case of supernova, the interior of a star will collapse on itself to the point that its particles will become neutrons. At this point, if a newly formed star were to have a magnetic field and a rotation, these particles would accelerate and form a pulsar wind nebula. According to Milisavljevic, this phenomenon had never been observed so early in the process.
"We know that supernova explosions produce these types of rapidly rotating neutron stars, but we have never seen direct evidence at this unique moment," he said. "This is a key moment when the pulsar wind nebula is bright enough to act as a light bulb illuminating the outer ejectas of the explosion."
Along with the unique scientific opportunity that this event has afforded to researchers, Milisavljevic notes the crucial nature of supernovas on the entire universe.
"This is a fundamental process in the universe, we would not be here unless it happens," he said. "Many of the essentials for life come from supernova explosions – the calcium in our bones, the oxygen we breathe, the iron in our blood – I think it's crucial for us , citizens of the universe, to understand this process. "
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