A team of astronomers has made a groundbreaking discovery that sheds new light on the mysterious deaths of massive stars. Using data from the Einstein Probe and other telescopes, they have identified a powerful blast of X-rays, known as an X-ray transient (FXT), which is linked to the explosion of a massive star.
The FXT is thought to be a “failed” burst of even higher energy radiation, similar to a gamma-ray burst (GRB). The discovery could revolutionize our understanding of how massive stars explode and leave behind exotic stellar remnants like black holes and neutron stars.
The team’s findings suggest that the massive star in question had a mass between 15 and 30 times that of the sun. This is consistent with previous theories that FXTs originate from the explosive death of a massive star.
One key finding is that the X-ray emission from the FXT was caused by jets of high-energy particles interacting with the star’s outer layers, but not enough to produce gamma-rays. This “failed” jet suggests that FXTs may be more common than previously thought.
The discovery has significant implications for our understanding of stellar evolution and the formation of black holes and neutron stars. The team’s research is published in two papers, which provide the most detailed data on an FXT and its associated supernova to date.
As one researcher noted, “This discovery heralds a broader understanding of the diversity in massive stars’ deaths and a need for deeper investigations into the whole landscape of stellar evolution.”
Source: https://www.space.com/astronomy