The newfound system is the tightest such cannibalistic binary known.
at Palomar Observatory in California. As the accreting matter falls onto the pulsar, the extra angular momentum that it provides acts to spin the pulsar up by such a degree that it begins rotating at hundreds of times per second. Such rapidly spinning pulsars are referred to as millisecond pulsars.
As the pulsar spins up, it unleashes increasing amounts of radiation that heat the companion star's pulsar-facing side. Burdge's team reasoned that this would create a substantial difference in brightness between the companion's two hemispheres, and that as the companion star and pulsar orbit one another, we would see the star periodically brighten and dim as we see first its brighter pulsar-facing side and then its cooler far side.
"I thought, instead of looking directly for the pulsar, try looking for the star that it's cooking," said Burdge in a press statement. To verify that this would work, Burdge's team first used this method to identify some of the previously known black-widow binaries. Then, after sifting through data collected by the Zwicky Transient Facility, they identified a new object varying in brightness by a factor of 13 every hour, and which did not seem related to any previously known type of variable star.
"Everything seems to point to it being a black-widow binary," said Burdge."But there are a few weird things about it, so it's possible it's something new entirely."
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Record number of antisemitic attacks in 2021, San Antonio incidents includedAntisemitism has been on the rise over the past several years, and a new study released last week by the Anti-Defamation League shows the trend is only growing.
Read more »
Coast Guard stopping record-breaking number of Haitian migrants near Florida's coastThe Coast Guard is seeing more Haitian migrants trying to reach the Florida coast by boat.
Read more »
Employers post record openings in March, two openings per every unemployed personWASHINGTON (AP) — Employers posted a record 11. 5 million job openings in March, meaning the United States now has an unprecedented two job openings for every person who is unemployed. The latest data released Tuesday by the the Bureau of Labor Statistics further reveals an extraordinarily tight labor market that has emboldened millions of Americans to seek better paying jobs, while also contributing to the biggest inflation surge in four decades. A record 4.
Read more »
A record 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs in MarchThe US labor market remained on fire in March with a record 4.5 million workers quitting their jobs, new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed Tuesday.
Read more »
100-year-old sets record for longest career at one companyWalter Orthmann, 100, set the Guinness World Record for working at the same company for 84 years and nine days.
Read more »