Magnetar

A magnetar is a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star. They are the most magnetic objects known in the Universe and have field strengths at their surface of up to 10^15 gauss, making them around 200 times stronger than any man-made magnets on Earth. Magnetars are very rare, with only around 30 known in our galaxy.

The name “magnetar” was first used in 1979 by Robert C. Duncan and Christopher J. Thomson when they proposed that these objects were the remains of supernova explosions of particularly massive stars and that their strong magnetic fields were created during the collapse of the star’s core. This model was later confirmed by observations of radio pulses from a magnetar in 1984.

Magnetars are thought to be born with extremely high rotation rates, which slows over time as energy is lost through electromagnetic radiation (particularly X-rays and gamma rays). This spin-down process powers a wind of charged particles that collides with the surrounding material, creating a shock wave and heating the magnetar’s atmosphere to temperatures of millions of degrees. The resulting X-ray emission can be incredibly bright, making some magnetars among the brightest objects in our sky despite being relatively far away.

The extreme conditions found near magnetars can teach us about the behavior of matter under conditions that cannot be replicated here on Earth. For example, studies of neutrons stars can help us understand how nuclear matter behaves at extremely high densities, something that is important for understanding both stellar evolution and nuclear weapons. Additionally, because magnetars emit powerful bursts of X-rays and gamma rays, they can also be used to probe the interstellar medium through which their radiation travels. By studying how their emissions interact with gas and dust between us and the magnetar, we can learn about otherwise invisible parts of our Galaxy