This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Edi

New accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar discovered

submited by

Style Pass

2024-05-08 01:00:06

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Temporal evolution of the SRGA J1444 emission during the 2024 outburst. Credit: Molkov et al., 2024.

Astronomers report the discovery of a new pulsar using the Spektr-RG space observatory. The newfound object, designated SRGA J144459.2−604207 (or SRGA J1444 for short), turns out to be a bursting accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar. The finding was detailed in a paper published April 30 on the pre-print server arXiv.

X-ray pulsars exhibit strict periodic variations in X-ray intensity, which can be as short as a fraction of a second. Accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars (AMXPs) are a peculiar type of X-ray pulsars in which short spin periods are caused by long-lasting mass transfer from a low-mass companion star through an accretion disk onto a slow-rotating neutron star. Astronomers perceive AMXPs as astrophysical laboratories that could be crucial in advancing our knowledge about thermonuclear burst processes.