2023-12-30 18:03:27
When two neutron stars collide, it doesn’t go unnoticed. But for the first time, astronomers are providing a clear and detailed image of such an event. And the way it forms gold!
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A neutron star corresponds to the final stage of life of a massive star. It is an extraordinarily dense object. As if all of humanity was concentrated in a cube of sugar. We understand that when two neutron stars collide, some of the most extreme conditions in our Universe are created. Conditions essential to the formation of heavy elements such as uranium or gold.
The scenario of a collision between neutron stars
In 2017, astronomers were able to record signs of a collision between neutron stars for the first time. Gravitational waves, a gamma-ray burst, all accompanied by a flash of light. The GW170817 event occurred some 130 million light years from our Earth. And by compiling all this data with results from laboratory experiments in a new modeling tool, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics and the University of Potsdam (Germany) have produced the most details of what happened at that time. They publish it in the magazine Nature Communications.
On the basis of the recorded gravitational waves, they first describe the final orbits of the two neutron stars. Trajectories which led them to a collision which gave rise to heavy elements ejected into space. Some of these radioactive elements then decayed into more stable elements like gold, raising the temperature and generating a fireworks display of electromagnetic signals ranging from infrared to ultraviolet to visible. A gamma-ray burst, also caused by the collision between neutron stars, ejected even more material. And the reaction of this material with the surrounding environment emitted X-rays and radio waves.
Study other collisions to better understand the formation of gold
The upgraded gravitational wave detectors have been launched into their fourth observation campaign. And astronomers hope they will reveal other neutron star collisions that might be studied using this tool they developed.
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