[Explanation] On the morning of December 22, Guangxi University held a results conference to introduce the major achievements of deep space exploration and observation research achieved by the astronomy and space science and technology team.
An important part of the achievement, "X-ray Polarization of the Vela Pulsar Wind Cloud Approaches the Theoretical Limit of Synchrotron Radiation", was published in the top international journal "Nature" on the same day.
Associate Professor Xie Fei of the school is the only first author and corresponding author, and achieved a historic breakthrough in publishing a paper in Nature with a local unit in Guangxi as the first completion unit.
[Concurrent] Xie Fei, a young teacher and associate professor of the Astronomy and Space Science and Technology Team of Guangxi University
It is the closest pulsar wind cloud to us, only about 900 light-years away.
In other words, we see this picture now, which is what it looked like 900 years ago.
[Explanation] Associate Professor Xie Fei introduced that through the X-ray imaging polarization telescope, the team discovered that there is extremely strong polarization in the Vela pulsar wind cloud, which is the target source with the highest degree of polarization that humans have detected in the high-energy band so far.
It changed scientists' understanding of the mechanism of particle acceleration.
[Concurrent] Xie Fei, a young teacher and associate professor of the Astronomy and Space Science and Technology Team of Guangxi University
The IXPE telescope, in the X-ray band, focuses on the more central region of the pulsar wind cloud, close to the core region where particles are accelerated.
We are very surprised to find that if we integrate the entire pulsar wind cloud, we can obtain an overall integral polarization degree of 44.6%, and the detection significance is more than 30 times σ.
In the field of astronomical exploration, this is an undoubted and very significant result.
[Explanation] On the same day, Chang Jin, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, commented: "This achievement has measured the X-ray polarization degree of the Vela pulsar wind and cloud close to the theoretical limit of synchrotron radiation with extremely high precision. This is the history of mankind. It is the first time in the world, and the result is very beautiful, without controversy, and the scientific significance goes without saying.” The astronomy and space science and technology team of Guangxi University contributed a lot to this major achievement.
As a local university research team, the team's process of carrying out deep space exploration can be described as "ten years of sharpening a sword".
[Concurrent] Liang Enwei, Dean and Professor of School of Physical Science and Engineering Technology, Guangxi University
We mainly started from 2008.
However, in the fields related to polarization and time-domain astronomy, we have started to lay out research and carry out work in about 10 years.
Our team has grown from a very weak one or two people to more than 30 people today.
The layout of the research direction is also from space to ground, from science to technology, with platforms, laboratories, and external environments for observation, etc. built.
[Explanation] For more than ten years, the astronomy and space science and technology team of Guangxi University has continuously improved the team structure and layout. The research directions now include time-domain astronomy, particle astrophysics, space detection technology, and relativistic astrophysics.
The rich project results have attracted more and more people to pay attention to astronomical research and join the wave of "starry sky craze".
[Concurrent] Xie Fei, a young teacher and associate professor of the Astronomy and Space Science and Technology Team of Guangxi University
I am very happy to see the popular science popularization in China. I think it is very meaningful for our next generation, or to cultivate their interest in astronomy in the future.
Therefore, we now pay more attention to this form of popular science to educate our young students.
For our field, we also look forward to young students joining us.
Reported by Huang Yanmei and Luo Yingjia in Nanning, Guangxi
Editor in charge: [Ji Xiang]