Discovery of a new hybrid neutron star (UCL)

An international team of scientists, including researchers from the UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory, have identified a second member of a rare breed of neutron star. Neutron stars are the dead cores of massive stars that have collapsed in on themselves after burning up all their fuel and exploding as dramatic supernovas.

There are several subtypes, and this newly discovered hybrid features the qualities of a magnetar and a pulsar. Magnetars emit bright X-rays and have the most intense magnetic fields known in the Universe. Pulsars, with much lower magnetic fields, pulse radio waves as they rotate rapidly.

This recently discovered hybrid star appears to have a spinning stellar skeleton (like that of a pulsar) while hiding an intense internal magnetic field (like that of a magnetar). The new hybrid star will help the team to understand more about the interior of neutron stars.

Animation credits: ESA -- C. Carreau; all videos/animations from ESA are Creative Commons, so you may reuse this video, as long as you cite the source

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