Beijing, Bolong.id – Chinese scientists have discovered a new form of pulsar, called a dwarf pulsar, using the 500-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST).
Reporting from the Shanghai Daily (20/08/2023). The findings were recently published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
According to research, pulsars emit radio signals as they rotate. However, some old pulsars often stop emitting for periods of time, a phenomenon known as “nulling”.
The underlying mechanism is still unknown, because the magnetosphere during the nulling state is difficult to investigate. due to the absence of emission measurements.
With very high FAST sensitivity, scientists from the National Astronomical Observatories under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), have detected sporadic, weak, and narrow pulses in the nulling state of pulsar B2111+46. pulsars as dwarf pulses, which are difficult to observe with other radio telescopes.
Further analysis showed that the magnetic field structure in the emitting region of the dwarf pulsar remains unchanged compared to normal pulses. This reveals the physical fact that the magnetic field structure of a pulsar is essentially unchanged when its radiation is nearly quenched, said Han Jinlin, a leading research scientist in the work this is at NAOC.
Whereas normal radio pulse emission is emitted by a “thunderstorm” of particles in the magnetosphere, the dwarf pulsar is generated by one or more “raindrop” particles, according to the study.
These pulses could help unravel the mysteries of the pulsar’s radiation process and the extreme plasma conditions in the pulsar’s magnetosphere, said Han.
2023-08-21 03:34:00
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