NewsPhysics

For the first time, scientists have used NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) to directly measure the magnetic fields of PSR J1101−6101, a pulsar located within the Lighthouse Nebula. This breakthrough provides new insight into the structure of some of the most extreme objects in the cosmos. X-ray polarimetry allows researchers to infer the orientation of the magnetic field in the pulsar's environment, offering crucial data on how these fields are generated and evolve under extreme gravity and density conditions.

Pulsars are rapidly rotating neutron stars that emit beams of electromagnetic radiation. Their magnetic fields are the strongest known in the universe, with intensities that can exceed 10^12 Gauss, trillions of times stronger than Earth's magnetic field. Understanding the configuration and strength of these fields is fundamental to unraveling the emission mechanisms of pulsars, their interaction with the interstellar medium, and the fundamental physics of matter under extreme conditions.

“For the first time, scientists have used NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) to directly measure the magnetic fields of PSR J1101−6101, a pulsar located within the Lighthouse Nebula.”