Sky & Telescope - April 2024 - 36

Neutron-Star Saga
DEATH OF A MASSIVE STAR This illustration shows a blue giant star
at the moment when it has consumed all the fusible elements in its core,
leaving a small iron core (red dot) at its center. The outward pressure of
fusion-released energy that has held the star up against its own weight is
now gone, and the star will quickly collapse, triggering a supernova.
As a parting gift, the progenitor imprints the newborn
neutron star with its own spin. The rapidly rotating progenitor
rotated around its axis once every 20 hours or so. This
rotation has a profound effect on the newly formed neutron
star, in two ways.
First, just as a twirling ice skater spins faster when she
folds her arms close to her body due to the conservation of
angular momentum, the remnant neutron star's rotation is
even greater than that of its parent star. It now completes a
A NEUTRON STAR IS BORN The collapse produces a superdense
neutron star with a strong magnetic field at its center (inset). Soon
the star's collapsing outer layers will rebound off the neutron star and
explode outward.
thousand rotations every second.
Second, this swift spin causes particle fluids inside the
neutron star to flow. These strange fluids, with their unique
magnetic and conductive properties, create a magnetic field
that is among the most powerful in the universe.
The exceptionally large magnetic field and rapid rotation
are unmistakable clues that we have just witnessed the birth
of a millisecond magnetar. We will call it the MM from now
on, the main protagonist of our story.
Meanwhile, immediately after the star's core collapses,
its outer layers fall inward, colliding with the newly formed
MM. This collision generates a powerful blast wave that
propagates outward through the infalling stellar
envelope. A colossal number of neutrinos, produced
when the iron core collapsed, now pass through
the star and mix with the shock wave, energizing
it. This energized shock wave then propels
the stellar material out into space, creating
a supernova.
For ordinary supernovae, this is where
the explosion ends. However, for our
MM, the fun has just begun. In this tale,
we will follow the MM through a series
of events, from birth to cataclysmic
death. Each event happens to real neutron
stars in the universe, although not
necessarily all to the same neutron star.
In this way, we'll gambol along several
evolutionary pathways, learning about
neutron-star physics as we go.
NEITHER A BIRD NOR A PLANE The supernova
explosion sends the magnetar rocketing through space.
36 APRIL 2024 * SKY & TELESCOPE
STAR TO SUPERNOVA REMNANT CREATION: MELISSA WEISS, NRAO / AUI /
NSF (4); STAR FLYING THROUGH SPACE ILLUSTRATION: LEAH TISCIONE / S&T

Sky & Telescope - April 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - April 2024

Contents
Sky & Telescope - April 2024 - Cover1
Sky & Telescope - April 2024 - Cover2
Sky & Telescope - April 2024 - 1
Sky & Telescope - April 2024 - Contents
Sky & Telescope - April 2024 - 3
Sky & Telescope - April 2024 - 4
Sky & Telescope - April 2024 - 5
Sky & Telescope - April 2024 - 6
Sky & Telescope - April 2024 - 7
Sky & Telescope - April 2024 - 8
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Sky & Telescope - April 2024 - Cover3
Sky & Telescope - April 2024 - Cover4
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