Researchers show for the first time what forms after a supernova

Assuming it is from one Supernova a Black hole Or a Neutron star Arising is nothing new. However, the assumption has not yet been proven because the process has never been observed. But now there are new observations confirming a connection.

A supernova is one of the most brutal events in the universe. When a star reaches the end of its life, it collapses beneath itself gravityThe outer casing is blown away. What will happen to the remains of the explosion is still theoretical for now. is the mass of the original star below 8 solar masses,the remaining kernel becomes A White dwarf. He had between 8 and 30 solar massesbecomes one Neutron starwhich amounts to itself 2.3 solar masses He may have. But the star is still there Greater than 30 solar massesbecomes one Black hole.

➤ Read more: What is a supernova?

Unusual behavior observed

In a new observation using two telescopes European Southern Observatory (ESO)DEM Very Large Telescope (VLT) And the New Technology Telescope (NTT) Two independent teams have now found evidence of this. They observed a supernova SN 2022GLwhich is in the spiral arm of Galaxy NGC 157 almost 75 million light years It happens far from Earth.

Usually, researchers get one when observing a supernova Slight curve, which becomes brighter briefly and then slowly decreases. But things are different with SN 2022jli. Overall brightness dropped here too, but with significant fluctuations 12 days.

The companion star survives the supernova

This may be related to the presence of at least one other star. This is amazing Binary star systems Not unusual. As a rule, he survives A companion star But not a supernova. In the case of SN 2022jli, the two objects continue to orbit each other.

That's from a supernova Materials taken out make sure that the weather From the accompanying star swollen. As the resulting compact object flies through this atmosphere, it moves away from the companion star hydrogen.

➤ Read more: Solving the mystery of hydrogen-poor supernovae

Combines them into one They are called matter tabletsthat surrounds him. This happens at regular intervals and means a lot energy For free, researchers were able to observe it in the light curve with changes in brightness.

“solve the puzzle”

Both teams came to the conclusion that only a neutron star or black hole could do this. However, they were unable to observe or identify the object. “Our research is like solving a puzzle by gathering all the possible clues,” he says. Ping Chenresearcher in Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. He is the lead author of one of the two studies Published in the specialized journal Nature had become.

“All these pieces together lead to knowledge,” Chen says. The second study was led by Thomas More the Queen's University Belfast had become In the Astrophysical Journal published. In the future there will be new telescopes like this Extremely Large Telescopes (ELT) Find out more about the compact object and the fate of its accompanying star.