The Institute for Space Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IKI RAN) explained the formation of fast-flying neutron stars. The high speed of these objects arises in the process of their "birth" during supernova explosions as a result of the collapse of massive stars.
During the explosion, the outer shell of the star is shed, and the inner regions are compressed. This forms a compact object — a neutron star.
If the explosion is not symmetrical — a recoil effect occurs, giving the star a high speed. However, until recently, the nature of this process remained unclear.
Researchers have developed a numerical model in which the parent star rotates and has a magnetic field. Depending on the configuration of this field, the shape of the explosion can vary significantly.
With a dipole magnetic field, the explosion occurs along the axis, forming jets (streams of plasma erupting from the central regions of some celestial bodies), while a quadrupole field leads to an explosion near the equator. However, in these cases, the symmetry of the explosion is maintained, and the neutron star does not receive a significant "recoil".
In a new work, scientists investigated asymmetric configurations of magnetic fields. The simulation results showed that in such cases, jets can also form, but with broken symmetry. This means that one of them may be significantly more powerful than the other. As a result, it was found that the speed of the formed neutron star can reach 500 km/s.
Earlier, www1.ru reported that a way has been found to distinguish white dwarfs from neutron stars.