Neutron Star Research: IIT Kanpur, IUCAA Pune, and Ashoka University Achieve Groundbreaking Results

Scientists from IIT Kanpur, IUCAA Pune, and Ashoka University achieved a breakthrough with AstroSat data. Check details here

A collaborative effort by scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) Pune, and Ashoka University has achieved a notable advancement by utilising data from India's inaugural astronomical observatory, AstroSat. Their findings, featured in the Astrophysical Journal, provide fresh perspectives on the internal composition of neutron stars, which are among the most compact entities in the cosmos.

The research team employed data from AstroSat's LAXPC instrument, a remarkable achievement in Indian engineering, to analyze X-ray emissions from the binary star system 4U 1728-34. This system consists of a neutron star that is accreting matter from a companion star. The study paves the way for a deeper understanding of these fascinating celestial objects and the fundamental laws governing the universe.

Neutron Star

Neutron stars are formed from the collapsed cores of massive stars and pack more than the Sun's mass into a sphere just 10 kilometres across. This extreme density creates a powerful gravitational field and leads to a complex, poorly understood, equation of state, the relationship between pressure and density within the star.

The authors analysed the X-ray data from the binary star system 4U 1728-34 and found several cases in which QPO triplets were observed. They discovered that the frequencies of these QPO triplets do not remain fixed; rather, they evolve continuously with time, maintaining a specific relationship with each other. Using this relationship, they found that the observed QPOs are best interpreted in terms of the three oscillations predicted by Einstein's general theory of relativity (GTR), i.e., the orbital motion, the precession of the perihelion, and the Lense-Thirring precession.

The research team includes Kewal Anand (Ph.D. Scholar, IIT Kanpur), Ranjeev Misra (Senior Professor, IUCAA), J. S. Yadav (Visiting Professor, IIT Kanpur; Retired Professor, TIFR Mumbai; Ex-PI LAXPC onboard AstroSat), Pankaj Jain (Professor, IIT Kanpur; Head of the SPASE Department, IIT Kanpur), Umang Kumar (Ph.D. Scholar, Ashoka University), and Dipankar Bhattacharya (Professor and Head of the Physics Department, Ashoka University; Ex-Senior Professor, IUCAA).

Pankaj Jain, Head of the SPASE Department at IIT Kanpur, commented on the findings: "This discovery advances our understanding of neutron stars and also opens new avenues for exploring the fundamental principles of physics in extreme environments. The insights gained from this study will have a lasting impact on astrophysics and related fields."

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