Synchronized star pairs unleash radio bursts via a Jupiter-Io-like mechanism
Researchers have helped unravel the mystery of why certain pairs of stars pulse with regular, long-period bursts of radio waves. The particular class of objects observed comes in pairs that always include a compact dead star, called a white dwarf, locked in orbit with an M dwarf, a red star smaller than our sun.
Pairs of stars with a compact white dwarf and an M dwarf, or red star, emit regular, long-period radio bursts due to a Jupiter-Io-like mechanism. Researchers at Caltech have used supercomputer simulations to explain how these binary systems power beams of intense radio light. The mechanism involves electron cyclotron maser instability (ECMI), a process where electrons spiral through magnetic fields, generating radio emissions.
This process is akin to the one observed between Jupiter and its moon Io since 1955. In white dwarf–M dwarf binaries, a powerful current is generated as the stars orbit each other, resulting in electrons becoming unstable and producing a continuous, polarized emission of radio waves, known as a maser. The simulations suggest that the radio emission can be up to ten times more efficient at producing signals than previously thought, confirming a theory proposed by Caltech's Peter Goldreich and Donald Lynden-Bell, which suggests that the same mechanism is applicable beyond our solar system.
Written by urgent.news from Phys.org's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
