Indian Scientist helps trace clues of high-energy pulses from Magnetars

Context

Scientists at the Andalusian Institute of Astrophysics (IAA-CSIC) have found the first clues to understand violent short-duration flares from a compact star of rare category called ‘magnetar’ located thirteen million light years away.

What are Magnetic Magnetars?

• A magnetar is an exotic type of neutron star that has an ultra-powerful magnetic field.
• The magnetic field is about 1,000 times stronger than a normal neutral star and about a trillion times stronger than the Earth’s.
• Magnetars are considered the most magnetic stars in the universe.
• Not only known for their ultra-powerful magnetic fields but magnetars are also known as the most bizarre objects in the cosmos next to black holes as they release vast amounts of energy in the form of flares, X-rays, and gamma-ray bursts.

Key-highlights of the Study

• The group of scientists studied an eruption in detail that helped them measure different oscillations, or pulses during the instants of highest energy, which are a crucial component in understanding giant magnetar flares.
• These compact stars with the most intense magnetic field known suffer violent eruptions that are still little known due to their unexpected nature and their short duration.
• Even in an inactive state, magnetars can be many thousands times more luminous than Sun.
• The observations revealed multiple pulses, with a first pulse appearing only about tens of microseconds, much faster than other extreme astrophysical transients.
• The scientists studied the case of the flash ‘GRB2001415’.
• This is the first extragalactic magnetar studied in detail.

Reason behind eruptions

• Instability or earthquake: It is believed that eruptions in magnetars may be due to instabilities in their magnetosphere or to a kind of “earthquakes” (“starquakes”) produced in their crust, a rigid and elastic layer about a kilometer thick.