Now Reading: IUCAA-led team finds fastest-spiralling white dwarf binary
-
01
IUCAA-led team finds fastest-spiralling white dwarf binary
An international team led by astronomers from IUCAA Pune has discovered a pair of white dwarfs that orbit each other every six minutes and are spiralling inward faster than almost any other…
The Story in Brief
An international team led by astronomers from IUCAA Pune has discovered a pair of white dwarfs that orbit each other every six minutes and are spiralling inward faster than almost any other known system. The study, published on August 10 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, used data from the Einstein Probe mission, NASA's NICER telescope, and XMM-Newton observatory over three-and-a-half years. The system, eRASSU J0608, was first spotted by the SRG eROSITA all-sky survey.
White dwarfs are dense stellar remnants the size of Earth but containing a star's mass. In this ultracompact binary, material may flow directly onto the companion's surface, heating it beyond a million degrees Celsius. The rapid orbital decay is driven by gravitational waves. The estimated chirp mass of 0.43 solar masses makes it a promising verification source for the European Space Agency's future LISA mission, slated to launch in the next decade.
The Indian Opinion
This discovery is a feather in the cap for Indian astronomy, but let us not turn it into chest-thumping. IUCAA's work is impressive, yet such findings are part of a global collaboration, the data came from Chinese and American instruments. The lazy narrative that Indian science always plays second fiddle is belied here, but neither should we exaggerate our role. The real test will be whether LISA, years away, actually detects the predicted gravitational waves. That concrete signal will settle the system's value as a verification source.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
