The Final Symphony of Neutron Stars ⚡ экспресс
For the first time, a three-dimensional kinetic simulation of the interaction between the magnetospheres of two neutron stars just before merger has been performed. When the magnetic moments are oriented oppositely, the field lines connecting them get twisted, causing periodic eruptions — akin to coronal mass ejections. Trailing behind the expanding magnetic rope is a current sheet where magnetic energy converts into radiation. Two types of precursors are predicted: gamma-ray emission peaking at ~16 MeV, noticeable minutes before merger only for nearby objects, and radio bursts, similar to fast radio bursts, in the final seconds. These could be detected by new instruments like CHORD or SKA-mid, offering a chance to get advance warning of gravitational-wave events.
Two neutron stars — these are ultra-dense remnants of dead stars, each the size of a city but heavier than the Sun. Their existence was predicted back in 1934 by Fritz Zwicky. A teaspoon of this matter weighs billions of tons. When two such objects draw close before merging, their magnetic fields twist and snap like taut strings. This produces powerful gamma-ray flashes and rapid radio pulses — a farewell symphony accessible to observers minutes before the catastrophe.
These signals, as it turns out, explain the enigmatic fast radio bursts — millisecond-long pulses from deep in the universe that have puzzled scientists until now. Astronomers will be able to aim telescopes in advance and witness the very moment of merger. Many neutron stars, by the way, manifest as pulsars — cosmic lighthouses discovered by Jocelyn Bell Burnell, and the merger itself generates gravitational waves — ripples in spacetime itself.
🎯 It turns out that fast radio bursts, which have baffled astronomers for decades, may be born precisely from the magnetic 'strings' between merging neutron stars.