"China Sky Eye" first detected the collinear three-dimensional velocity and rotation axis of a pulsar
Science and Technology Daily, Beijing, May 6th (Reporter Lu Chengkuan) Based on the observations of the "China Sky Eye" (FAST), researchers from the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, through the method of scintillation analysis, obtained the pulsar J0538+2817 in the supernova remnant for the first time The radial position and velocity in S147 have been studied and found that the three-dimensional velocity of the pulsar is collinear with its rotation axis.
This discovery marks the beginning of FAST's help in deep research on pulsars.
Related research results were published online in the journal Nature Astronomy on May 6.
A pulsar is a fast-rotating neutron star, produced by stellar evolution and supernova explosions, and can be used for gravitational wave detection, black holes and other related studies.
Currently, supernova simulations cannot produce neutron stars whose speed and rotation axis are collinear, showing that humans need to deepen their understanding of the physical mechanisms involved in the complex process of the origin of neutron stars, such as neutrino radiation.
Compared to supernova predecessors (OB stars), young pulsars have higher speeds and faster rotations.
"After decades of research, scientists have discovered that the speed and rotation axis of some young pulsars generally have a collinear relationship." said Li Han, the chief scientist of FAST and a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
However, since it is very difficult to measure the radial velocity of young pulsars, previous comparative studies on pulsar velocity and direction of rotation axis stayed on a two-dimensional plane perpendicular to the line of sight.
This time the researchers detected the radial position and velocity of the pulsar J0538+2817 in the supernova remnant S147, and combined the existing tangential velocity measurements to obtain the three-dimensional velocity.
At the same time, the high-precision polarization data analysis also gives the orientation of the three-dimensional rotation axis, which proves that the three-dimensional velocity of the pulsar is collinear with the rotation axis.
Li said that this research is a representative result of a comprehensive analysis of FAST pulsar data. With the support of the Scientific Committee, the Time Allocation Committee, and the FAST Operation Center, systematic measurements in this direction are gradually being carried out, which is expected to reveal in-depth neutrons. The origin of spin.