Researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) have found an explanation for a mysterious gamma-ray signal coming from the center of the galaxy, which has long been said to be a signal of dark matter.
Gamma rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation with the shortest wavelength and highest energy.
This gamma-ray signal, known as the Galactic Center Excess, may actually come from a certain type of fast-spinning neutron star, the study’s co-author, Associate Professor Roland Crocker, said. our sun.
The galactic center surplus is an unexpected concentration of gamma rays emanating from the center of our galaxy that has long baffled astronomers.
Professor Crocker explained: “Our work does not raise any doubt regarding the existence of the signal, but it does provide another potential source. It relies on millisecond pulsars, neutron stars that rotate very quickly, regarding 100 times per second.”
“Scientists have previously detected gamma-ray emissions from individual millisecond pulsars in the vicinity of the Solar System, so we know that these objects emit gamma rays. Our model shows that the integrated emission from a whole group of these stars, numbering regarding 100,000, is regarding 100,000,” Crocker added. , and it will produce a signal that is perfectly consistent with the galactic center surplus.”
And the discovery might mean that scientists have to rethink where to look for clues regarding dark matter.
Associate Professor Crocker said: ‘The nature of dark matter is not fully known, so any potential evidence is very exciting.
But our results point to another important source of gamma ray production. For example, the gamma-ray signal from Andromeda, the closest large galaxy to our galaxy, may be due to millisecond pulsars.”
The research was led by Anuj Gautam, a master’s student at Australian National University, which also involved scientists from the Australian Defense Force Academy, the University of Canterbury and the University of Tokyo.
The study results were published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
