A hybrid star - a neutron star inside a red supergiant

Astronomers discovered the first star predicted in the theory under the name of its discoverers in the seventies - Taron-Zhitkov

In a discovery that took decades to make, scientists discovered the first evidence of the existence of a star that was theoretically predicted in 1975 by physicist Kip Thorne and astronomer Anna Zhitkov. Self-Tron-Zhitkov are a cross between an extremely large red giant and a neutron star reminiscent of red supergiants such as Beetlejuice in the Orion group. However, they differ in their chemical signature, which indicates a unique activity inside the star.

It is hypothesized that Taron-Zhitkov objects are formed from contact between two stars - a red supergiant and a neutron star during a supernova explosion in a binary star system where the stars were close together. While the exact mechanism of the object's formation is unknown, theory posits that during the evolution of the interaction between the two stars, the more massive red giant of the two eventually engulfs the neutron star spinning into the red supergiant's core.

While red supergiants generate energy from nuclear fusion within their cores, Tron-Zhitkov bodies are affected by an unusual activity of neutron star ingestion into their cores. The discovery of the Taron-Zhitkov object provides the first evidence for a model that has so far not been discovered by astronomers.

The head of the project, Emily Levesque from the University of Colorado in Boulder, who earlier this year won an award on behalf of the American Astronomical Society, says: The study of these objects is fascinating because they represent a new model of the way a star's interior works. In such cores we discover new ways of creating heavy elements in the universe. You must have heard that everything is made of stellar matter, in these stars we may see a new way of creating part of the matter."

The astronomers made the discovery from the 6.5 meter diameter Clay Telescope in Las Campanes, Chile. They studied the spectrum of light emitted from what appeared to be a red supergiant that showed them what elements were present in the starlight. When the spectrum of one particular star, HV 2112 in the Small Magellanic Cloud was first shown, astronomers were quite surprised by its unusual properties.

When Lavesk and her colleagues closely examined the fine lines of the spectrum they discovered that it contained rubidium, lithium and molybdium. Past studies have shown that in a normal stellar process none of these elements are formed. The high frequency of all three together at temperatures typical of a red supergiant is a unique signature for the Taron-Zhitkov bone.

"I am happy that an observation finally appeared that confirmed our theoretical prediction" said Zhitkov. "Since Thorne and I proposed a model of stars with neutron cores, no one has been able to disprove our work. If the theory is solid, observational confirmation must come sooner or later, so it was just a question of identifying a promising constellation, telescope time and continuing the project."

to the notice of the researchers