The magnetic field produces heat on neutron stars

Burning by magnetic fields can play a more prominent role in the development of neutron stars than previous claims of Spanish and American scientists.

The researchers analyzed data describing the surface and magnetic temperatures of nearly 30 neutron stars and found a mathematical association between these two properties and hypothesized that neutron stars were heated by the magnetism itself. their school. While magnetic-field heating is expected in " magnetic stars " (magnetars) - neutron stars that have very high magnetic fields - this study provides the first evidence that burning also occurs in stars. have lower magnetic field. This may cause astrophysicists to rethink the cooling theory of neutron stars ( Physical Review Letters 98 071101, 2007 ).

Formed by the collapse of large stars, neutron stars are extremely dense objects and contain almost neutrons. They are usually only about 10 km in diameter but are heavier than the sun by at least 40%, meaning that the density of their nuclei is several times larger than the density of the nucleus. When the star is aging, it is thought that the neutron star was initially cold due to the emission of neutrinos and then the emission of photons. By measuring the cooling rate of neutron stars, physicists can gain insights into the subatomic physics that governs these objects.

JoséPons and colleagues at Alacant University (Spain) and colleagues of Montana State University (USA) used data obtained from X-ray telescopes on satellites and invisible telescopes. The ground line indicates that the heating due to magnetic fields appears on neutron stars that have a magnetic field strength between 1012 and 1015 G. Previous astrophysicists have suggested that the heating is due to magnetic fields only. significantly in stars with magnetic fields above 1014 G.

The relationship between the effective temperature and the magnetic field on the stars.

The next step for researchers is to examine the relationship between temperature and magnetic fields by analyzing additional data from neutron stars. However, this may have to wait until the next generation of X-ray telescopes (such as the Nasa's ConstellationX satellite range or ESA's XEUS) is operated over the next few decades. Pon also believed that computer simulation of the interaction between neutron stars and their magnetic fields could shed light on how cold the neutron star was.

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