Astronomers have just solved a long-standing mystery about a rare, rapidly spinning neutron star known as PSR J1023+0038.
Using NASA’s IXPE telescope and a fleet of observatories, scientists discovered that the system’s intense X-rays don’t come from its glowing accretion disk as previously believed, but from a chaotic, high-speed wind of particles hurled out by the pulsar itself. The findings challenge old models and reveal a single, powerful mechanism behind the pulsar’s radiation. It’s a dramatic twist in our understanding of how dead stars can still light up the universe.
Explosive Star Remnants and a Mysterious Pulsar System
A global team of astronomers has made a significant discovery about how the energetic remains of exploded stars interact with the space around them. Using NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) along with several other observatories, researchers gathered new insights into this dynamic cosmic behavior.
The scientists, working across the United States, Italy, and Spain, focused their investigation on a puzzling stellar system known as PSR J1023+0038, or simply J1023. This system features a rapidly spinning neutron star that draws material from a smaller companion star. As a result, an accretion disk of matter has formed around the neutron star. The neutron star also functions as a pulsar, emitting intense beams of radiation from its magnetic poles as it spins, creating a pattern that resembles a lighthouse sweeping through space.
What makes J1023 especially important is that it switches between two distinct phases. In one phase, the pulsar actively pulls in material from its companion star. In the other, it becomes quieter, sending out detectable pulses as radio waves. Because of this behavior, astronomers classify it as a “transitional millisecond pulsar.”
Cosmic Laboratories for Neutron Star Evolution
“Transitional millisecond pulsars are cosmic laboratories, helping us understand how neutron stars evolve in binary systems,” said researcher Maria Cristina Baglio of the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) Brera Observatory in Merate, Italy, and lead author of a paper in The Astrophysical Journal Letters illustrating the new findings.
The big question for scientists about this pulsar system was: Where do the X-rays originate? The answer would inform broader theories about particle acceleration, accretion physics, and the environments surrounding neutron stars across the universe.
The source surprised them: The X-rays came from the pulsar wind, a chaotic stew of gases, shock waves, magnetic fields, and particles accelerated near the speed of light, that hits the accretion disk.
Probing Polarized Light with IXPE and ESO
To determine this, astronomers needed to measure the angle of polarization in both X-ray and optical light. Polarization is a measure of how organized light waves are. They looked at X-ray polarization with IXPE, the only telescope capable of making this measurement in space, and compared it with optical polarization from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile. IXPE launched in December 2021 and has made many observations of pulsars, but J1023 was the first system of its kind that it explored.
NASA’s NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer) and Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory provided valuable observations of the system in high-energy light. Other telescopes contributing data included the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array in Magdalena, New Mexico.
Matching Polarization Confirms a Theory
The result: scientists found the same angle of polarization across the different wavelengths.
“That finding is compelling evidence that a single, coherent physical mechanism underpins the light we observe,” said Francesco Coti Zelati of the Institute of Space Sciences in Barcelona, Spain, co-lead author of the findings.
This interpretation challenges the conventional wisdom about neutron star emissions of radiation in binary systems, the researchers said. Previous models had indicated that the X-rays come from the accretion disk, but this new study shows they originate with the pulsar wind.
Pulsar Winds as Dominant Energy Engines
“IXPE has observed many isolated pulsars and found that the pulsar wind powers the X-rays,” said NASA Marshall astrophysicist Philip Kaaret, principal investigator for IXPE at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “These new observations show that the pulsar wind powers most of the energy output of the system.”
Astronomers continue to study transitional millisecond pulsars, assessing how observed physical mechanisms compare with those of other pulsars and pulsar wind nebulae. Insights from these observations could help refine theoretical models describing how pulsar winds generate radiation – and bring researchers one step closer, Baglio and Coti Zelati agreed, to fully understanding the physical mechanisms at work in these extraordinary cosmic systems.
Reference: “Polarized Multiwavelength Emission from Pulsar Wind—Accretion Disk Interaction in a Transitional Millisecond Pulsar” by Maria Cristina Baglio, Francesco Coti Zelati, Alessandro Di Marco, Fabio La Monaca, Alessandro Papitto, Andrew K. Hughes, Sergio Campana, David M. Russell, Diego F. Torres, Francesco Carotenuto, Stefano Covino, Domitilla de Martino, Stefano Giarratana, Sara E. Motta, Kevin Alabarta, Paolo D’Avanzo, Giulia Illiano, Marco M. Messa, Arianna Miraval Zanon and Nanda Rea, 1 July 2025, The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/add7d2
More about IXPE
IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) is a groundbreaking space observatory that is transforming our understanding of the high-energy universe. A joint mission between NASA and the Italian Space Agency, with scientific collaborators from 12 countries, IXPE is the first satellite dedicated to measuring the polarization of X-rays from extreme cosmic objects like neutron stars, black holes, and supernova remnants.
Led by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, IXPE is delivering unprecedented data that reveal the physical conditions, geometry, and behavior of some of the most energetic and mysterious phenomena in the cosmos. Spacecraft operations are managed by BAE Systems, Inc., in partnership with the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in Boulder.
By capturing how X-rays are polarized—how their waves are oriented—IXPE helps astronomers probe magnetic fields, particle acceleration, and emission mechanisms in ways never before possible.
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1 Comment
Note 2507211134_Source1.Reinterpreting【
Source 1.
https://scitechdaily.com/nasa-just-discovered-where-these-mysterious-space-x-rays-really-come-from/
1.
NASA Finds The Real Source Of This Mysterious Space X-ray
Astronomers have solved a long-standing mystery about a rare, fast-rotating neutron star known as PSR J1023+0038.
Using NASA’s IXPE telescope and several observatories, the scientists found that the system’s intense X-rays do not come from the glowing accretion disk as previously thought, but rather from the disorderly, high-speed particle winds emanating from the pulsar itself.
The discovery challenges existing models and reveals one powerful mechanism behind pulsar radiation. This has led to a dramatic shift in our understanding of how dead stars can illuminate the universe.
_[1-1] A pulsar is a rotating body of a neutron star. A pulsating radio star (pulsar pulsar) is a spinning neutron star (vixxer) that emits light of electromagnetic waves in the form of highly magnetized, observable radio waves.
_】The important fact is that Pulsa teleport (*) the positions of neutron stars entangled in a suqer structure into the long-distance universe of the structure of the suqer entanglement.
Black holes are twins entangled in a rational structure. They also move in position through the x-jet.
_*】I need to see if the location of PSR J1023+0038 appears elsewhere. Uh-huh. If it’s right, my cosmology is proven. Hmm.
1-2. Explosive star debris and mysterious pulsar system
A team of astronomers from around the world has made a significant discovery about how high-energy debris from exploded stars interact with the surrounding space. Taking advantage of NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarization Explorer (IXPE) and several other observatories, the researchers have gained new insights into these dynamic cosmic movements.
2.
Scientists working throughout the United States, Italy, and Spain focused their work on a mysterious star system called PSR J1023+0038, or J1023 for short. The star system is characterized by fast-rotating neutron stars attracting matter from small companions. As a result, an accretion disk of matter formed around a neutron star.
2-1.
This neutron star also acts as a pulsar, emitting intense radiation from the magnetic poles as it spins, creating a pattern as if a lighthouse were sweeping the universe.
What makes J1023 particularly important is that it moves back and forth between two distinct phases.
In one phase, the pulsar actively attracts material from its companions. In another phase, the pulsar becomes quieter, releasing detectable pulses into radio waves. Because of these properties, astronomers classify J1023 as an “transient millisecond pulsar.”
_[2-1] Because the source of the pulsar is a rotating neutron star, it actively attracts matter from the companion stars that exist inside msbase
2-2. Space laboratory for neutron star evolution
“Transitional millisecond pulsars are space laboratories, helping us understand how neutron stars evolve in this binary system,” said Maria Cristina Baglio, a researcher at Italy’s National Astrophysical Laboratory (INAF) Brera Observatory in Merite, Italy, and lead author of a paper explaining the new findings in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
2-3.
Scientists’ biggest question about this pulsar system was where X-rays come from. The answer to this question will support broader theories about particle acceleration, accretion physics, and the environment around neutron stars across the universe.
2-4.
The source surprised them. The X-rays came from the pulsar wind, which is a chaotic mixture of gases, shock waves, magnetic fields, and particles accelerating close to the speed of light, colliding with the accretion disk.
3. Exploration of polarized light using IXPE and ESO
To confirm this, astronomers had to measure the polarization angle in both X-rays and visible light. Polarization is a measure of the organization of light waves. They observed X-ray polarization using the only telescope in space, IXPE, and compared it to that obtained by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. IXPE was launched in December 2021 and observed the pulsar several times, but J1023 was the first pulsar observation system explored by IXPE.
3-1.
NASA’s NICER (Neutron Star Internal Composition Probe) and Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory have provided valuable observations of this star system with high-energy light. The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array in Magdalena, New Mexico, has also provided data.
3-2.
Polarized matching confirms the theory
As a result, the scientists found the same polarization angle at different wavelengths.
“This finding is compelling evidence [that the light we observe is supported by a single, consistent physical mechanism],” said Francesco Coti Gelati of the Space Science Institute in Barcelona, Spain. He is a co-author of the findings.
4.
The researchers say this interpretation challenges conventional wisdom about radiation emitted by binary systems of neutron stars. Previous models have suggested that X-rays originate in accretion disks, but the new study shows that they originate in pulsar winds.
_[3-2, 4] X-rays appear when a neutron star shows a position change due to the Susqer polarization structure of orbital entanglement. Polarization is a measure of the intrinsic arrangement frequency of msbase in the organization of light waves.
This is like the principle that light appears when energy changes in an atomic orbit structure. Uh-huh.