Researchers see the beam of light from the first confirmed neutron star melting emerge behind the sun



[ad_1]

A research team led by astronomers from the University of Warwick had to wait over 100 days to see the first of the star neutrons to merge to reform behind the sun's glare.

They were rewarded by the first confirmed visual observation of a stream of material that continued to emerge from the fused star exactly 110 days after the initial cataclysmic fusion event was observed for the first time. Their observations confirm a key prediction on the consequences of neutron star mergers

The fusion of GW170817 binary neutron stars occurred at 130 million light-years in a galaxy named NGC 4993. It was detected in August 2017 by the advanced laser interferometer. Observatory (Adv-LIGO), and by Gamma Ray Burst (GRB) observations, then became the first fusion of neutron stars to be observed and confirmed by visual astronomy.

After a few weeks, the fused star then passed behind glare 100 days after the melting event.

It is at this time that the research team of the University of Warwick was able to use the Hubble Space Telescope to see the star. always producing a powerful ray of light in a direction that, off the center of the Earth, began to spread in our direction.

Their research has just been published in an article entitled: "The Optical Remanence of the Short Gamma-ray Burst Associated with GW170817" in the Nature Astronomy website at 4 pm UK time Monday, July 2, 2018.

The lead author of the paper, Dr. Joe Lyman of the Department of the University of Warwick "From the beginning, we saw visible light fueled by the radioactive decay of heavy elements, more than a hundred days later and this is gone, but now we see a stream of material, ejected at an angle for us, but at almost the speed of light.It is very different from what some have suggested that the material would not come out in a jet, but in all directions. "

Professor Andrew Levan of the Physics Department of the University of Warwick, another of the principal authors:

" If we had looked directly at this beam, we will ions saw a truly powerful gamma ray explosion. This means that it is very likely that each fusion neutron star actually creates an explosion of gamma rays, but we only see a small fraction of them because the jet does not show up. do not align so often. Gravitational waves are a whole new way to find this kind of event, and they might be more common than we think. "

These observations confirm the prediction made by the second author of the paper, Dr. Gavin Lamb of the University of Leicester, Department of Physics and Astronomy, stated that these types of events will reveal the structure of these jets of matter traveling near the speed of light:

"The light behavior of these jets, how it illuminates and disappears, can be used to determine the speed of the material throughout the jet . As the reverb shines, we look deeper into the jet structure and probe the faster components. This will help us understand how these streams of matter, traveling near the speed of light, are formed and how they are accelerated at these phenomenal speeds. "

Related Links

University of Warwick

Lands Beyond Beyond – Extra Solar Planets – News and Science
Life Beyond the Earth



We Need Your Help The Network SpaceDaily news continues to grow, but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook – our traditional revenue streams via network quality advertising continues to dwindle. And unlike so many other news sites, we do not have a paywall – with these usernames and annoying passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year, and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or to make a unique contribution now.


SpaceDaily Contributor

$ 5 Filled Once

credit card or paypal


SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$ 5 Billed monthly

paypal only



  EXO WORLDS
Astronomers discover a new way for planets giants to evolve

Preston UK (SPX) July 2, 2018


New research on the early stages of planet formation, published in monthly leaflets of the Royal Astronomical Society, suggests that there could be more giant planets – mostly at least 10 times Jupiter – orbiting at great distances from their host star that we previously thought.

With the help of supercomputers, researchers from Central Lancashire University (UCLan) and Nagoya University in Japan analyzed how young planets interact with their host protoplanetary disk – the rotating disk … read more

[ad_2]
Source link