Astronomers have discovered that some of the Universe’s fastest-spinning stars, millisecond pulsars, broadcast radio waves from much farther out than previously thought.
Studying nearly 200 pulsars, the team found that about one-third emit radio signals from multiple regions, with some pulses perfectly lining up with gamma-ray flashes. This suggests that radio waves are produced not only near the star’s surface but also in a distant, swirling “current sheet” where magnetic fields sweep nearly at the speed of light.
This breakthrough reveals that pulsars broadcast from both their surfaces and the far reaches of their magnetic fields. It also means more pulsars may be detectable than previously believed, offering new insights into gravity, dense matter, and cosmic phenomena. The ruesults have been published here.
Read the full press release from MPIfR,
Image: The illustration shows a pulsar (red sphere) and its strong magnetic field (yellow lines). As the stellar remnant rotates, narrow beams of radio waves (cones) sweep across the sky and become detectable as regular signals for observers on Earth. The beams originate close to the magnetic poles (yellow cones) but may also arise from a region farther out (blueish cone), as the new study suggests. The proportions and colours are not realistic and are for illustrative purposes only. © MPIfR