The James Webb Space Telescope and other observatories witnessed a huge explosion in space that created rare chemical elements, some of which are necessary for life.
The burst, which occurred on March 7, was the second brightest gamma-ray burst ever witnessed by telescopes in more than 50 years of observations, more than a million times brighter than the entire Milky Way combined. Gamma ray bursts are short emissions of the most energetic form of light.
This particular burst, called GRB 230307A, was likely created when two neutron stars – the incredibly dense remains of stars after a supernova – merged in a galaxy about 1 billion light-years away.
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In addition to releasing the gamma-ray burst, the merger created a kilonova, a rare explosion that occurs when a neutron star merges with another neutron star or a black hole, according to a study published Wednesday. in Nature magazine.
“There are only a handful of known kilonovae, and this is the first time we have been able to observe the aftermath of a kilonova with the James Webb Space Telescope,” said study lead author Andrew Levan, professor of astrophysics at Radboud University in The Countries. Lows.
Levan was also part of the team that made the first detection of a kilonova in 2013.
In addition to Webb, NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite observed the explosion and tracked it back to the neutron star merger. Webb was also used to detect the chemical signature of tellurium after the explosion.
Tellurium, a rare metalloid – a chemical element that does not have the properties of metal but resembles it – is used to dye glass and ceramics and plays an important role in the manufacturing process of rewritable CDs and DVDs, according to the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Astronomers expect that other elements close to tellurium on the periodic table, including iodine, which is necessary for much life on Earth, are likely present in the material released by the kilonova.
“Just over 150 years since Dmitri Mendeleev wrote the periodic table of elements, we are now finally in a position to start filling in the last gaps in understanding where it all came from, thanks to Webb,” said Levan.
Tracking stellar explosions
Astronomers have long believed that neutron star mergers are the celestial factories that create rare elements heavier than iron. But it has been difficult to track down the evidence.
Kilonovae are rare events, which makes them difficult to observe. But astronomers look for short bursts of gamma rays, which last only about two seconds at most, as telltale byproducts of the sparse events.
What was unusual about this burst is that it lasted 3 minutes and 20 seconds, making it one long gamma ray burst. These prolonged explosions are usually associated with supernovae created when massive stars explode.
“This explosion is in the long category. It’s not close to the border. But it appears to come from a merging neutron star,” study co-author Eric Burns, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Louisiana State University, said in a statement.
Fermi initially detected the gamma-ray burst, and astronomers used ground- and space-based observatories to track changes in brightness during the burst’s aftermath in gamma-rays, X-rays, visible, infrared, and radio light waves. Rapid changes in visible and infrared light suggested it was a kilonova.
“This type of explosion is very fast, with the material in the explosion also expanding rapidly,” study co-author Om Sharan Salafia, a researcher at the Brera Astronomical Observatory of the National Institute of Astrophysics in Italy, said in a statement.
“As the entire cloud expands, the material cools rapidly and its peak light becomes visible in the infrared and becomes redder on timescales of days to weeks.”
The team also used Webb to trace the journey of neutron stars before they exploded.
In ancient times, they were two massive stars in a binary system that existed in a spiral galaxy. One of the pair exploded as a supernova, leaving behind a neutron star, and then the same thing happened to the other star.
These explosive events launched the stars from their galaxy and they remained as a pair, traveling for 120,000 light years before merging several hundred million years after they were ejected from their home.
Finding cosmic elements
Astronomers have been trying to determine how chemical elements are created in the universe for decades.
Discovering more kilonovae in the future with sensitive telescopes like Webb and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, scheduled to launch in 2027, could provide information about which heavy elements are created and released by the rare explosions.
Researchers also want to find more mergers that create longer gamma-ray bursts to determine what drives them and whether there is any connection to the elements created in the process.
The violent life cycle of stars distributed the elements found in the periodic table throughout the universe, including those necessary for the formation of life on Earth.
The ability to study stellar explosions like kilonovae in recent years is allowing scientists to answer questions about the formation of chemical elements, enabling a deeper understanding of how the Universe has evolved over time.
“Webb provides a phenomenal boost and can find even heavier elements,” said study co-author Ben Gompertz, assistant professor at the Institute for Gravitational-Wave Astronomy and the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, in a statement. communicated.
“As we get more frequent observations, the models will improve and the spectrum will be able to evolve more over time,” Gompertz said.
“Webb has certainly opened the door to do much more, and his abilities will be completely transformative for our understanding of the universe.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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