Vampire stars. Unknown Source of Dust Discovered: Responsible for Life and Death in the Universe

Astronomers have discovered a previously unknown source of cosmic dust that serves as the building blocks of stars. The authors of the study, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, found that such dust could form as a result of a cosmic explosion, when a dead white dwarf star scatters material from its companion and then interacts with gas in its immediate surroundings. Space writes that such an explosion is called a type 1a supernova.

In Focus. Technologies emerged telegram channel. Subscribe to avoid missing the latest and most exciting news from the world of science!

This isn’t the first time astronomers have linked supernovae to the formation of cosmic dust; However, previous observations have focused on supernovae resulting from the compression of stars’ cores. This explosion occurs when a massive star runs out of fuel needed for the nuclear fusion process.

However, since such supernovae have not been observed in elliptical galaxies, astronomers have tried to explain exactly where the dust inside them comes from. And now a new study offers an answer: Dust, the building blocks of stars, may come from vampire white dwarfs that steal material from their companion stars before exploding in a Type 1a supernova.

White dwarfs are dead stars that form when lower-mass stars run out of fuel they need for nuclear fusion and their cores collapse. However, the masses of such stars are too small for their cores to turn into a neutron star or black hole.

Although some white dwarfs exist alone, there are also those with companion stars. The latter brings star corpses back to life, so to speak. The fact is that white dwarfs, like vampires, absorb matter from their neighbors and, as a result, move towards the dead star. Too much accumulation of the stolen material will lead to a thermonuclear explosion, a type 1a supernova.

To determine whether Type 1a supernovae can create cosmic dust, scientists observed a supernova called SN 2018evt using space- and ground-based telescopes. Scientists discovered that the supernova collided with material ejected by two stars, and that the collision sent shock waves into the ejected gas, forming dust in the gas itself as it cooled after the shock waves passed.

Scientists found that the collision resulted in the formation of a large amount of dust, whose mass is equivalent to 1% of the mass of the Sun. As the gas cools further, scientists believe dust production will increase 10-fold.

The results of the study show that Type 1a supernovae are not as efficient as other supernovae in producing gas. However, in elliptical galaxies they are an important and even dominant source of dust.

Scientists believe that white dwarfs may play an important role in the cycle of star formation and death, as well as in the processes that lead to the emergence of planets and sometimes life on them as we know them. According to scientists, such dust can also turn into planetoids, that is, the building blocks of planets, and the process of formation of new objects continues even after the death of some stars. So white dwarfs essentially play an important role in the cycle of life and death in the Universe.

As I already wrote FocusThe secret of the mysterious wave-like structure in the Milky Way, 9 thousand light years long, has been revealed.