Paul Scholz

The polarization of X-rays from a dead star with a monstrous magnetic field has been measured. It changes with energy as if the vacuum behaves like a crystal, bending light. This is the first direct evidence of a quantum effect predicted over 80 years ago.

Astronomers observed the radio burst for three years and noticed that the cloud of scattering particles around it was thinning — a sign of an expanding supernova. A temporary intensification of the magnetic field pointed to a neutron star with an extraordinarily powerful field.