A peculiar star in the Milky Way bears the remnants of a unique explosion from a giant star that existed billions of years ago during the cosmic dawn. Finding it could reshape current understanding of stellar explosions, and the creation of heavier elements, and offer insights into the characteristics of early universe stars.
'Barbenheimer Star': An Unprecedented Cosmic Anomaly Challenges Stellar Evolution
Astronomers from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), the ancient star scientifically known as J0931+0038 is located 13,000 light-years away, challenging previous notions of stellar demise.
According to the study, titled "Spectacular nucleosynthesis from early massive stars" available in the preprint server arXiv and scheduled to be published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the star's elemental composition resulted from an unconventional explosion of a more massive star, which contradicts existing theories.
Astronomer Alex Ji from the University of Chicago and the SDSS, leading the research, emphasizes the unparalleled nature of the discovery, naming the supernova progenitor 'Barbenheimer Star' due to its extraordinary nucleosynthesis. This cosmic event challenges conventional theories, as a star of such massive size, at least 50 times the mass of the Sun, typically collapses into a black hole rather than experiencing a supernova.
The finding sheds new light on the cosmic processes of star explosions and the creation of heavier elements, disrupting our previous understanding of stellar evolution and offering insights into the characteristics of early stars in the universe.
Extraordinary Chemical Composition of the 'Barbenheimer Star'
The chemical composition of stars serves as a historical record, disclosing details about their formation and the stars preceding them. Younger stars exhibit higher concentrations of heavier elements, aiding in age determination.
J0931+0038's spectrum displayed an extraordinary composition, notably deficient in odd-numbered periodic table elements like sodium and aluminum, yet enriched in elements near iron such as nickel and zinc. Moreover, the abundance of elements heavier than iron, like strontium and palladium, exceeded anticipated levels.
Astronomer Jennifer Johnson of Ohio State University highlighted the uniqueness, stating that while individual features have been observed, the simultaneous presence of all these characteristics in a single star is unparalleled.
The research team concluded that J0931+0038's metals originated from a singular, extremely metal-poor nucleosynthetic source-a star with a mass 50 to 80 times that of the Sun, which underwent a supernova, dispersing its material into space and giving rise to the cloud from which J0931+0038 formed.
The unexpected supernova contradicts established models, as such massive stars are anticipated to gravitationally collapse instead of exploding outward.
Astronomer Sanjana Curtis from the University of California, Berkeley, co-leading the study, emphasized the incomprehensibility of J0931+0038's element pattern, stating that current models of element formation fall short in explaining the observed self-contradictory distribution.
The enigma surrounding the Barbenheimer star prompts the quest for more celestial anomalies and their detailed modeling to unravel the intricate narrative of its existence, demise, and cosmic imprints left for future contemplation.
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