- Astronomers have located an elusive white dwarf pulsar.
- This is the first of its kind to be discovered in the universe. It is housed in an exotic binary star system 380 light years away from Earth.
- Researchers identified the star AR Scorpii (AR Sco) as the first white dwarf version of a pulsar.
- Fresh data shows that AR Sco’s light is highly polarised, showing that the magnetic field controls the emission of the entire system.
- This is a dead-ringer for similar behaviour seen from the more traditional neutron star pulsars.
- The white dwarf pulsar has eluded astronomers for over five decades.
- AR Sco contains a rapidly spinning, burnt-out stellar remnant called a white dwarf, which lashes its neighbour- a red dwarf.
- It does so through powerful beams of electrical particles and radiation, causing the entire system to brighten and fade dramatically twice every few minutes.
- The lash of energy from AR Sco is a focused ‘beam’, emitting concentrated radiation in a single direction much like a particle accelerator- something which is totally unique in the known universe.
- AR Sco lies in the constellation Scorpius, 380 light years from Earth, a close neighbour in astronomical terms.
- The white dwarf in AR Sco is the size of Earth but 200,000 times more massive. It is in a 3.6 hour orbit with a cool star one-third the mass of the Sun, as per the study.
What is a Pulsar?
- They are what is known as the “lighthouses” of the universe.
- These are rotating neutron stars that emit a focused beam of electromagnetic radiation that is only visible if you’re standing in it’s path.
- Referred to as pulsars, these stellar relics get their name because of the way their emissions appear to be “pulsating” out into space.
- Pulsars are types of neutron stars which are the dead relics of massive stars.
- They are highly magnetized, and rotating at enormous speeds.
- Astronomers detect them by the radio pulses they emit at regular intervals.