Global EditionASIA 中文雙語(yǔ)Fran?ais
    China
    Home / China / Innovation

    China Focus: China's Einstein Probe captures rare X-ray flash from binary star system

    Xinhua | Updated: 2025-02-19 10:52
    Share
    Share - WeChat

    BEIJING -- China's Einstein Probe (EP) astronomical satellite has captured an X-ray flash from a rare and elusive binary star system, offering new insights into the interaction and evolution of massive stars.

    The research, a collaboration between Chinese and international scientists, was published in the latest issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

    The binary system consists of a large, hot star 12 times the mass of the Sun, and a compact white dwarf with a mass similar to that of the Sun but only the size of the Earth. Only a handful of such systems have been identified, and this is the first time scientists have tracked the X-ray light from the pair as it flared up and then faded.

    On May 27, 2024, the Wide-field X-ray Telescope (WXT) onboard the EP satellite detected X-rays from the Small Magellanic Cloud, a neighboring galaxy. To trace the source, identified as EP J0052, scientists used EP's Follow-up X-ray Telescope (FXT) and also enlisted NASA's Swift and NICER X-ray telescopes, as well as the European Space Agency (ESA)'s XMM-Newton telescope.

    Data analysis revealed the source to be a rare and intriguing celestial pair.

    "We realized that we were looking at something unusual, that only EP could catch. This is because, among current telescopes monitoring the X-ray sky, WXT is the only one that can see lower energy X-rays with sufficient sensitivity to catch the novel source," says Alessio Marino, a researcher at the Institute of Space Sciences in Spain, and lead author of the study.

    "The unusual duo consists of a massive star that we call a 'Be star,' weighting 12 times the Sun, and a stellar 'corpse' known as a white dwarf, a compact and hyper-dense object, with a mass similar to that of our star," explains Marino.

    The two stars orbit closely, with the white dwarf's strong gravitational field pulling material from its companion. This process eventually leads to a catastrophic nuclear explosion, creating a bright flash across multiple wavelengths, including visible light, UV and X-rays.

    According to the scientists, the two stars' interaction began with the larger star exhausting its nuclear fuel, shedding material onto its companion. As the Be star grew to 12 times the mass of the Sun, the remaining core of the other star collapsed into a white dwarf. Now, the white dwarf is pulling material from the Be star's outer layers.

    "This study gives us new insights into a rarely observed phase of stellar evolution, which is the result of a complex exchange of material that must have happened among the two stars," said Ashley Chrimes, an X-ray astronomer at ESA. "It's fascinating to see how an interacting pair of massive stars can produce such an intriguing outcome."

    Erik Kuulkers, ESA project scientist for EP, noted that outbursts from Be-white dwarf systems are extraordinarily difficult to observe. "The advent of EP offers the unique chance to spot these fleeting sources and test our understanding of how massive stars evolve."

    The EP mission is one of a series of space science missions led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is also an international collaboration mission with contributions from the ESA, the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany, and the French space agency CNES.

    Launched on Jan 9, 2024, from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province, Southwest China, the EP satellite carries two scientific instruments: the WXT, which provides a wide view of the X-ray sky, and the FXT, which allows for detailed observation of transient sources detected by the WXT.

    EP is an international collaborative mission, and its science team comprises about 300 researchers worldwide. The recent publication of the first paper led by scientists from the ESA member states based on EP data highlights the project's openness and collaborative spirit in scientific research, said Yuan Weimin, EP's principal investigator.

    "We hope that the EP satellite will continue to provide invaluable observational datasets for the worldwide astronomical community, driving advancements in humanity's understanding of the ever-changing universe," he added.

    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
     
    久久最近最新中文字幕大全| 国产午夜无码专区喷水| 亚洲高清无码在线观看| 无码粉嫩小泬无套在线观看| 精品久久久无码人妻中文字幕 | 亚洲久本草在线中文字幕| 国产免费无码一区二区| 亚洲国产精品无码久久SM| 中文www新版资源在线| 亚洲精品无码久久久| AV无码人妻中文字幕| 亚洲AV日韩AV高潮无码专区| 中文字幕无码高清晰 | 国产在线无码视频一区二区三区| 中文字幕精品久久久久人妻| 中文亚洲AV片在线观看不卡| 惠民福利中文字幕人妻无码乱精品| 无码人妻精品一区二区三区66| 内射人妻少妇无码一本一道| 久久e热在这里只有国产中文精品99| 在线天堂中文WWW官网| 精品无码久久久久久国产| 国产成人无码精品一区二区三区| 熟妇人妻AV无码一区二区三区| 亚洲人成影院在线无码按摩店| 中文字幕乱妇无码AV在线| 中文字幕日韩三级片| 最好看的电影2019中文字幕| 精品中文高清欧美| 最近中文字幕完整版资源| 大蕉久久伊人中文字幕| a亚洲欧美中文日韩在线v日本| 7国产欧美日韩综合天堂中文久久久久| 久久超乳爆乳中文字幕| 成人性生交大片免费看中文| 亚洲va中文字幕无码久久不卡| 欧美精品中文字幕亚洲专区| 色综合久久中文综合网| 最近中文字幕无免费| 精品深夜AV无码一区二区老年| 久久无码AV中文出轨人妻|