A theoretical astrophysicist may have solved a nearly two-decade-old mystery over the origins of an unusual 'zebra' pattern seen in high-frequency radio pulses from the Crab Nebula.
A theoretical astrophysicist may have solved a nearly two-decade-old mystery over the origins of an unusual 'zebra' pattern seen in high-frequency radio pulses from the Crab Nebula.
But unlike any other known pulsar, Medvedev said the Crab Pulsar features a zebra pattern -- unusual band spacing in the electromagnetic spectrum proportional to band frequencies, and other weird features like high polarization and stability. "Researchers proposed various emission mechanisms, but none have convincingly explained the observed patterns," he said.
This well-known fringe pattern phenomenon is caused by consistent constructive interference but has different characteristics when radio waves propagate around a neutron star. "This model is the first one capable of measuring those parameters," Medvedev said."By analyzing the fringes, we can deduce the density and distribution of plasma in the magnetosphere. It's incredible because these observations allow us to convert fringe measurements into a density distribution of the plasma, essentially creating an image or performing tomography of the neutron star's magnetosphere.
Nebulae Black Holes Astronomy Extrasolar Planets Astrophysics Cosmic Rays Solar Flare
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