|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
A way to measure the mass of a neutron star, even if it is byitself!!
New way to weigh a star | Astronomy.com
http://www.astronomy.com/news/2015/1...o-weigh-a-star Until now, scientists have determined the mass of stars, planets and moons by studying their motion in relation to others nearby, using the gravitational pull between the two as the basis for their calculations. However, in the case of young pulsars, mathematicians at the University of Southampton have now found a new way to measure their mass, even if a star exists on its own in space. “For pulsars, we have been able to use principles of nuclear physics, rather than gravity, to work out what their mass is, an exciting breakthrough which has the potential to revolutionize the way we make this kind of calculation,” said Wynn Ho of the University of Southampton. |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
A way to measure the mass of a neutron star, even if it is by itself!!
Dear Yousuf Khan:
On Monday, October 5, 2015 at 3:12:22 PM UTC-7, Yousuf Khan wrote: New way to weigh a star | Astronomy.com http://www.astronomy.com/news/2015/1...o-weigh-a-star Until now, scientists have determined the mass of stars, planets and moons by studying their motion in relation to others nearby, using the gravitational pull between the two as the basis for their calculations. However, in the case of young pulsars, mathematicians at the University of Southampton have now found a new way to measure their mass, even if a star exists on its own in space. "For pulsars, we have been able to use principles of nuclear physics, rather than gravity, to work out what their mass is, an exciting breakthrough which has the potential to revolutionize the way we make this kind of calculation," said Wynn Ho of the University of Southampton. Where does the incident matter stream come from, to form the pulsar's signal? David A. Smith |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
A way to measure the mass of a neutron star, even if it is byitself!!
On 05/10/2015 7:05 PM, dlzc wrote:
Where does the incident matter stream come from, to form the pulsar's signal? It comes from inside the neutron star itself, when most of the time interior is a superfluid, without resistance, it occasionally encounters a frictional resistance in the form of the neutron star's own solid crust. When the solid crust and the superfluid interior interfere with each other, it causes a speed up of the rotation rate of the star. They use this temporary speed up to measure the mass of the whole star. Yousuf Khan |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
A way to measure the mass of a neutron star, even if it is by itself!!
On Wednesday, October 7, 2015 at 7:09:27 PM UTC-4, Yousuf Khan wrote:
On 05/10/2015 7:05 PM, dlzc wrote: Where does the incident matter stream come from, to form the pulsar's signal? It comes from inside the neutron star itself, when most of the time interior is a superfluid, without resistance, it occasionally encounters a frictional resistance in the form of the neutron star's own solid crust. When the solid crust and the superfluid interior interfere with each other, it causes a speed up of the rotation rate of the star. They use this temporary speed up to measure the mass of the whole star. The original research paper is he http://arxiv.org/abs/1510.00395 It's an interesting concept and worth exploring. I do think it represents a very nice improvement in the understanding of pulsar physics, and it is a very nice synthesis of X-ray measurements of neutron star temperature and radio measurements timing properties. However, I'm not sure how reliable the mass estimates will be. My recollection is that individual pulsars don't glitch in a consistent manner, which to me means that this theory should be taken with a grain of salt. Also, the results are highly dependent on the nuclear matter equation of state at high density, which is not actually known. What would be most excellent would be to estimate masses in two independent ways and then see if both methods get the same answer. Craig Markwardt |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
A way to measure the mass of a neutron star, even if it is byitself!!
On 09/10/2015 10:16 AM, Craig Markwardt wrote:
It's an interesting concept and worth exploring. I do think it represents a very nice improvement in the understanding of pulsar physics, and it is a very nice synthesis of X-ray measurements of neutron star temperature and radio measurements timing properties. Yup, and if it gets verified in some dual-body neutron star systems, then we'll have a brand new way of measuring masses. However, I'm not sure how reliable the mass estimates will be. My recollection is that individual pulsars don't glitch in a consistent manner, which to me means that this theory should be taken with a grain of salt. Also, the results are highly dependent on the nuclear matter equation of state at high density, which is not actually known. What would be most excellent would be to estimate masses in two independent ways and then see if both methods get the same answer. I don't think they need them to glitch consistently. They just need to measure the difference in timings between normal and glitched modes, whenever that happens. Yousuf Khan |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Neutron Star Mass Distribution | Robert L. Oldershaw | Research | 2 | November 17th 13 08:15 PM |
Most massive neutron star ever detected used General Relativity effectto come up with mass | Yousuf Khan[_2_] | Astronomy Misc | 0 | October 27th 10 08:44 PM |
A 20 solar mass neutron star is discovered! | Yousuf Khan[_2_] | Astronomy Misc | 12 | November 9th 09 02:39 AM |
ASTRONOMERS MEASURE MASS OF A SINGLE STAR -- FIRST SINCE THE SUN (STScI-PR04-24) | INBOX ASTRONOMY: NEWS ALERT | Amateur Astronomy | 0 | July 15th 04 03:09 PM |
ASTRONOMERS MEASURE MASS OF A SINGLE STAR -- FIRST SINCE THE SUN (STScI-PR04-24) | INBOX ASTRONOMY: NEWS ALERT | Astronomy Misc | 0 | July 15th 04 03:08 PM |