Sky & Telescope - December 2021 - 34

NASA GSFC / CHRIS SMITH (USRA)
Stars Run Amok
Magnetars have the most
extreme magnetic fields
we know of in the universe.
instances they may merge into a single higher-mass neutron
star, with the remaining cases resulting in a black hole. Genevieve
Schroeder (Northwestern University) studies that type
of GRB to see if there's any sign they make magnetars.
" We need two neutron stars that merge together and have
a mass that is below or just a tiny bit above the maximum
mass [for neutron stars], " she says. The newly formed star
might sustain such an exceptionally high mass for a short
period of time if different parts of its interior start off rotating
at different rates.
As with the supernova formation theory, magnetars forming
from GRBs require specific conditions. " The idea is that
these two neutron stars already have pretty high magnetic
fields, so when they merge together they could in theory create
another neutron star with an even higher magnetic field, "
Schroeder explains.
Starquake!!!
Whichever way they form, the resulting magnetars have the
most extreme magnetic fields we know of in the universe.
Those fields are tangled up inside the neutron star from their
formation, and that mess means many of the fields repel
each other, just as north poles of bar magnets repel other
north poles. The tension and complex interplay between
magnetic fields and electric currents in the magnetar interior
work to disentangle the fields. But neutron stars also have
solid crusts, which pin the magnetic fields in place where
they pierce the surface.
" As the magnetic field lines move, they pull on this crust, "
says Huppenkothen. " If you pull enough on something that
you're anchored in, you're gonna rip it apart. And that is how
you get starquakes. "
Since everything about a magnetar is intense, starquakes
are, too. The energy released when the crust cracks has to go
somewhere, and the result is gamma-ray flares, including the
ones powerful enough to affect Earth's atmosphere. Radiation
from the Sun ionizes atoms and molecules high above our
planet's surface, creating a layer known as the ionosphere;
the giant flares in 1979 and 2004 dramatically increased the
FLARE-UP This illustration depicts a powerful burst that erupted on April 28, 2020, from the magnetar SGR 1935+2154. Both X-ray and radio
telescopes detected the event, which resembled the mysterious fast radio burst signals seen from other galaxies.
34 DECEMBER 2021 * SKY & TELESCOPE

Sky & Telescope - December 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - December 2021

Contents
Sky & Telescope - December 2021 - Cover1
Sky & Telescope - December 2021 - Cover2
Sky & Telescope - December 2021 - 1
Sky & Telescope - December 2021 - Contents
Sky & Telescope - December 2021 - 3
Sky & Telescope - December 2021 - 4
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