4U 0142+61 Explained

4U 0142+61 is a magnetar at an approximate distance of from Earth, located in the constellation Cassiopeia.

In an article published in Nature on April 6, 2006, Deepto Chakrabarty et al. of MIT revealed that a circumstellar disk was discovered around the pulsar. This may prove that pulsar planets are common around neutron stars. The debris disk is likely to be composed of mainly heavier metals. The star had undergone a supernova event approximately 100,000 years ago. The disk orbits about 1.6 million kilometers away from the pulsar and probably contains about 10 Earth-masses of material.^[1] This also marks the first time that a pulsar has been discovered with a debris disk orbiting it.^[2]

In May 2022, the first study by the IXPE space observatory hinted at the possibility of vacuum birefringence on 4U 0142+61.^{[3] [4]}

In November 2022, astronomers using the IXPE reported that the star may have a solid surface, with no atmosphere.^{[5] [6]}

External links

• First signs of weird quantum property of empty space? (November 30, 2016) Phys.org
• Scientists crack mystery of planet formation (April 5, 2006) CNN
• Spitzer Sees New Planet Disk Around Dead Star (April 7, 2006) SpaceDaily
• Birth of 'Phoenix' Planets?
• 4U0142+61
• 1RXS J014621.5+614509

Notes and References

1. Wang. Zhongxiang. Chakrabarty. Deepto. Kaplan. David L.. April 2006. A debris disk around an isolated young neutron star. Nature. en. 440. 7085. 772–775. 10.1038/nature04669. 16598251. astro-ph/0604076. 2006Natur.440..772W. 4372235 . 0028-0836.
2. Ertan. Ü. Erkut. M. H.. Ekşi. K. Y.. Alpar. M. A.. March 2007. The Anomalous X-Ray Pulsar 4U 0142+61: A Neutron Star with a Gaseous Fallback Disk. The Astrophysical Journal. 657. 1. 441–447. 10.1086/510303. astro-ph/0612587. 2007ApJ...657..441E. 16726942.
3. Taverna . Roberto . Turolla . Roberto . Muleri . Fabio . Heyl . Jeremy . Zane . Silvia . Baldini . Luca . Caniulef . Denis González . Bachetti . Matteo . Rankin . John . Caiazzo . Ilaria . Di Lalla . Niccolò . Doroshenko . Victor . Errando . Manel . Gau . Ephraim . Kırmızıbayrak . Demet . 2022-05-18 . Polarized x-rays from a magnetar . Science . 378 . 6620 . 646–650 . 10.1126/science.add0080 . 36356124 . 2205.08898 . 2022Sci...378..646T . 248863030 .
4. Web site: 2022-06-30 . X-ray polarisation probes extreme physics . 2022-08-15 . CERN Courier . en-GB.
5. News: Magnetised dead star likely has solid surface . UCL . 3 November 2022. 21 November 2022.
6. News: NASA's IXPE Finds Powerful Magnetic Fields and Solid Crust at Neutron Star . NASA . 10 November 2022. 21 November 2022.