Scientists discover fast-spinning ‘unicorn’ object that defies physics
A team of scientists led by the NSF Green Bank Observatory (NSF GBO) recently identified an incredibly rare object known as the Radio-Transitory (LPT) at Long Period (LPT), Chime J1634 + 44. These objects are similar to Radio Rotatifs (RRT), which are short radio pulse sources that would be caused by stars pulsating neutrons (pulsars). The difference with LPTs is that they have extremely long rotation periods, which often last between minutes and hours. However, the chime J1634 + 44 is the only LPT observed to date which is running, as indicated by its period of decreasing spin and its unusual polarization.
These attributes question our current understanding of transient objects and raise new questions about physics that governs the universe. Nevertheless, the moment of repetitive radio bursts from the Carillon J1634 + 44 is not clear. Said Fengqiu Adam Dong, a jansky scholarship holder at NSF GBO, in a NRAO press release:
You could call Chime J1634 + 44 A “Unicorn”, even among others LPT. The gusts seem to repeat every 14 minutes, or 841 seconds, but there is a separate secondary period of 4206 seconds, or 70 minutes, which is exactly five times longer. We believe that the two are real, and it is probably a system with something orbit around a neutron star.
In addition to the Green Bank telescope, the observations were made possible using the very large table (VLA), the rapid radio project and the hydrogen pulsar project and the NASA radio and pulsar project, the SWIFT Swift Observatory (SWIFT) of NASA (LOFAR). The combined capacities of these telescopes allowed scientists to detect and study in detail the unusual signals of the object.
While the large field of vision of Chime has detected the periodic gusts of the transient and monitored its spin, the VLA system for rapid transitional research in real time using interferometric imaging (AKA. Realfast) provided high frequency observations to correct the distortions of interstellar media (ISM) and offered more precise location data. The GBT provided high resolution synchronization data to analyze its polarization and its spin, while Swift looked for X -ray counterparts, which completed the radio observations of other observatories.
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Normally, compact objects like neutron stars lose energy over time, which makes their slowdown and their rotation period slow down longer. But when the team observed the chime J1634 + 44, they found that its rotation period is shortened, which means that LPT must accelerate. Since there is no plausible explanation for that which occurs with a single star, the team theorizes that it must be part of a binary system with an orbit in narrowing. This could be attributed to binary pairs losing energy through gravitational interaction or the emission of gravitational waves (GWS).
This behavior was seen with other white dwarfs in narrow orbit, creating the illusion that their period became shorter, but no neutron star was never found to do it with each burst. In addition, the radio bursts from the j1634 + 44 chime traveling in a perfect whirlwind while they were heading in space, which means that they are fully polarized circular. This suggests that the way these radio waves are produced is different from what we see in all other known objects. Said Dong:
The discovery of the Carillon J1634 + 44 widens the population known to the LPT and questions the existing models of neutronic stars and white dwarfs, which suggests that there can be many other objects while waiting for the discovery.
These results open up new avenues on radio-astronomy and could help astronomers approach the mysteries of rotary neutron stars, one of the most enigmatic objects of the cosmos.
THE original version of this article was published on Universe today.
