The power of the brightest pulsar flares is hundreds of times higher than previously thought

The authors observed changes in the strength of the glow of the Crab Nebula pulsar: they did it as in

radio wave range, and in the high-energy range. It turned out that the neutron star became 4% brighter in the X-ray range during the most powerful radio flares.

This means that their real power is hundreds of times higher than theoretical estimates.

Teruaki Enoto, Science Team Leader at the RIKEN Institute in Waco, Japan

Amplified radiation detected in X-rayrange, was similar to that previously reported in the visible range, but nothing like this has ever been observed with any of the other 2,800 known pulsars.

The authors observed the well-studied pulsar PSR B0531 + 21, which is located in the center of the Crab Nebula. It was formed quite recently by astronomical standards, in 1054 AD,

Long-term observations have indicated that the brightnessthe pulsar slightly increased in the optical range at those times when GRP flares appeared on its surface. This led scientists to believe that PSR B0531 + 21 can produce not only unusually powerful flashes of visible light and radio waves, but also beams of X-rays and other types of high-energy radiation.

The authors collated all the data and found thatvirtually all GRP flares were accompanied by a sharp increase in the pulsar's brightness in the X-ray range by 3-4%. The actual power of the bursts was tens or hundreds of times higher than theorists had previously believed.

Read more:

The first accurate map of the world was created. What's wrong with everyone else?

NASA told how they will deliver samples of Mars to Earth

Scientists explain the appearance of "spiders" on the surface of Mars