The discovery of pulsars whipped up the development of cosmology that was acknowledged by physicists as hard science (by analogy with hard currency). It was 15 years ago that Russian scientist Vladimir Usov published in Nature his article in which he theoretically described the possible existence of millisecond pulsars (MSP), namely those spinning at over 700 rotations per minute. They were to possess gigantic magnetic fields and to be the most powerful source of gamma radiation, even more powerful than X-radiation.
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At that time nobody could even imagine that in one and a half decade blazers or GRB (Gamma-Ray Bursts) will be really discovered in the depths of the Universe. This was one of the most remarkable discoveries of 2007.
The studying of pulsars is still under way thanks to new satellites, space platforms and earth-based telescopes. A recent issue of Nature magazine published an article by Sergei Blinnikov from Los Alamos National Laboratory where the US first atomic bomb was once created. His article highlighted the nature of the 2006 supernova outburst (SN2006gy – Super-Nova) that is at least ten times more powerful than a common star.
According to the scientist, the usual collapse of the core is not the only reason for outbursts. In massive stars the pressure of masses and gravitation set off the formation of pairs of electrons and their antiparticles – positrons, the so-called pair instability. They are so active that they start burning and explode. Energy of a star core is drastically decreasing, and after their collapse they explode once again with emission of several solar masses of matter. The collision of two blast waves causes radiation of an enormous amount of light that is at least ten times brighter than a common supernova.
For the time being, the theory is based on calculations of energy flows that reach Earth from pulsatile objects in the space. However, in the near future we may witness the birth of other supernovas, which will confirm Blinnikov’s ideas. Scientists may be awarded the second Nobel Prize for pulsars. The first one was granted to Hewish alone in 1974. The Nobel commission might consider it unseemly to award such a high prize to a postgraduate. Her advisor did not insist on scientific parity, though there is a precedent in the Nobel Prize history. Jocelyn Bell had to justify her boss for 40 years.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
Translated by Julia Bulygina
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