A team from CSIRO Parkes Observatory and the Australian National Science Agency has discovered a passive magnetar known as XTE J1810-197, about 8,000 light-years from Earth, and is the closest to Earth. Observations were made using existing The largest Muriong telescope in Australia.
According to the team, the dormant star woke up with unusual radio pulses after being quiet for years. Unlike the polarized light normally emitted by most magnetars, the light from XTE J1810-197 is circularly polarized, forming a spiral pattern. universe.
“Unlike the radio signals we've seen from other magnetars, this star emits rapidly changing circular polarization, and we've never seen anything like it before,” said Marcus Lauer, a postdoctoral fellow at the lab.
He added: “Magnets are astronomical objects known to produce some of the strongest magnetic fields known in the universe, and we study these objects to understand the processes responsible for generating such strong magnetic fields and how they affect the surrounding space environment.”
For her part, Manisha Caleb, co-author of the study, said: “The signals emanating from this magnetite indicate that the interactions on the star's surface are more complex than previously theoretical interpretations.”
The team pointed out that this discovery is very important because the radio pulses emitted by the magnets are rare, and scientists do not know the reason for the strange signals coming from this magnet, but the results indicate that there is a very hot plasma above the magnetic pole. of magnetism, which acts as a polarizing filter. How much plasma it does is yet to be determined.
