When investigating pulsars, scientists have made discoveries linked, for example, to the dynamism of the Milky Way, the energetic emissions of gamma rays and the ability of some pulsars to destroy stars close to them.
Pulsar is a concept specific to the field of astronomy . In the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) it is indicated that this word refers to a high- density star that only has neutrons , rotates quickly and is capable of emitting intense electromagnetic radiation at short and regular intervals.
Before delving into the knowledge in this regard, it is worth knowing or keeping in mind that a neutron star is a type of high-temperature stellar remnant that arises when the gravitational collapse of a massive supergiant occurs whose core has been left without fuel and structure, therefore , ends up exploding as a variety of supernova .
As multiple pulsars have been discovered over the years and scientific and general interest in them is increasing, below we will provide data related to the formation, distinctive features and scope of a pulsar .
Discovery of the pulsar
In 1974 , the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to a British-born radio astronomer named Antony Hewish . The ruling, in addition to recognizing his contribution to the so-called radio aperture synthesis, considered that he had a central role in the discovery of the pulsar . However, the records say, it was the then student Jocelyn Bell Burnell , a Northern Irishwoman who graduated as an astrophysicist , the first person to detect, in 1967 , the radio signal associated with pulsars .
This discovery also motivated Thomas Gold , who analyzed pulsars and came to postulate that they can be conceived as neutron stars that are rotating and are characterized by having a highly intense magnetic field .
As time progressed and technology evolved, new developments regarding pulsars were incorporated, the observation and study of which is vital to appreciate the universe more and better, in addition to being extremely useful when testing the precision of the theory of general relativity .
In 2023 , for example, it emerged that a team of scientists based at an observatory in Namibia managed to establish that the Vela Pulsar , the brightest of the pulsars considered within the radio band associated with the electromagnetic spectrum , is the most outstanding and firm source. of cosmic gamma rays discovered so far.
More recent is the information from the University of Alabama , where a group of astrophysicists focused their attention on the variety known as a binary pulsar and worked on its gravitational acceleration with the aim of determining where the dark matter is located and how much of it there is. in our galaxy .
Outside the so-called Small Magellanic Cloud, inside the bubble created by the explosion of a supernova, there is a very particular pulsar that rotates slower than other pulsars and has been devouring material associated with its companion star.
Classification
Currently, thousands of pulsars are recognized, but since they present differences between them, it has been decided to subject them to a classification that allows them to be distinguished based on the particularities they present.
The aforementioned binary pulsar , to describe a specific case, is characterized by appearing accompanied by either a white dwarf or another neutron star . There are, simultaneously, systems made up of a binary star that lead to an X -ray pulsar , where a primary star intervenes, generating stellar winds and radiation that are captured by the remaining star , producing in that case
There is even the millisecond pulsar , as defined as each compact neutron star capable of rotating at a speed that exceeds hundreds of rotations per second. A few seasons ago, taking advantage of the benefits of a radio telescope named MeerKAT in South Africa , a group of astronomers found various millisecond pulsars inside globular clusters.
Using modern high-precision telescopes and a novel observation technique, it has been possible to detect the most luminous and brightest of the extragalactic pulsars known to date.
News about pulsars
When reviewing journalistic archives that bring together publications that have come to light in recent years, for example, the Chandra X-ray Observatory regains visibility, where a pair of energetic pulsars that move through the Milky Way and that have been specifically observed , depending on their peculiarities, have served to understand both the existence and absence of gamma rays and radio pulses .
On the other hand, a very particular pulsar has been detected that surprises experts with a strange way of behaving, since it has been transforming intermittently. On the one hand it has been emitting visible and ultraviolet light along with bright X-rays ; On the other hand, it launches radio waves and is fainter when it is at a low frequency. These alterations find an explanation in an interaction that involves a quantity of matter that flows in the direction of the pulsar , the wind of the pulsar and a flow of particles that have high energy and tend to move away from said pulsar .
Another of the not-so-old findings leads to a spider pulsar system, a phenomenon characterized by very fast-spinning neutron stars and a powerful energy output capable of destroying the binary companion. Through the James Webb space telescope , to add another reference, a clear image has been captured that allows us to observe the Crab pulsar , the center or heart of the so-called Crab nebula .