Observations of Neutron Stars

中子星的观测

• 批准号: 228738-2013
• 负责人: Kaspi, Victoria
• 金额: $ 7.29万
• 依托单位: McGill University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=692767
• 关键词: Observations; Neutron; Stars

Neutron stars, gravitationally collapsed remnants of massive stars that have run out of nuclear fuel, embody some of the most extreme physics in the observable Universe. Their central densities are thought to be higher than that in the atomic nucleus, so high in fact that the behaviour of matter is not known. They are sometimes found in short-orbital-period binary systems in which the two stars orbit each other at significant fractions of the speed of light; this, together with neutron stars' amazingly precise clock-like pulses, allows sensitive tests of gravitational theories like Einstein's General Relativity. Some neutron stars display sudden violent bursts of X-rays; these "magnetars" are thought to be powered by the strongest magnetic fields in the known Universe. This proposal is to use the world's largest radio and X-ray telescopes, both ground- and space-based, in order to both constrain fundamental physics using observations of neutron stars. We will also understand neutron stars themselves as endpoints of stellar evolution, and their relation to other major components of our Milky Way Galaxy.

中子星是大质量恒星耗尽核燃料后引力坍缩的残余物，体现了可观测宇宙中一些最极端的物理现象。 它们的中心密度被认为高于原子核的密度，事实上，物质的行为是未知的。 它们有时会在短轨道周期的双星系统中被发现，其中两颗恒星以光速的很大一部分相互环绕;这与中子星令人惊讶的精确时钟脉冲一起，允许对爱因斯坦的广义相对论等引力理论进行敏感的测试。 有些中子星会突然爆发出强烈的X射线;这些“磁星”被认为是由已知宇宙中最强的磁场驱动的。 该提议将使用世界上最大的无线电和X射线望远镜，包括地基和天基望远镜，以便通过对中子星的观测来限制基础物理学。 我们还将了解中子星本身作为恒星演化的终点，以及它们与银河系其他主要组成部分的关系。