Madrid, 17 (Europe Press)
Researchers from Peking University and the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences reported the discovery based on observations from LAMOST (Large Sky Area Multi-Object Spectroscopic Fiber Telescope) and NOWT (Nanshan Wide Field Telescope 1 meter).
The candidate, a dark companion of an ancient star with a mass of only about 0.98 solar masses, should resemble a faint X-ray isolated neutron star (XDINS), but in a binary form, according to the study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
So far, only seven XDINS have been discovered, alien objects barely detected by radio signals. Dubbed the Magnificent Seven, these are located 391 to 1,630 light-years from Earth, according to Xinhua.
Neutron stars were previously thought to have formed by core collapsing supernovae, but they tend to be more than 1.17 times the mass of the Sun.
LAMOST’s spectral data also indicates the presence of a small accretion disk around the neutron star candidate and/or the level of accretion disk activity, according to the study.
The new findings, the researchers said, indicate that the tiny radio-like XDINS object may have been born in an alternate channel such as the collapse of a white dwarf after it accreted.
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