Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 12, 2025
07:46
Setting Limits on Supersymmetry Using Simplified Models
Published on: November 15, 2013
8.6K
A high-mass X-ray binary descended from an ultra-stripped supernova
Noel D Richardson1, Clarissa M Pavao2, Jan J Eldridge3
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, AZ, USA. noel.richardson@erau.edu.
Nature
|February 1, 2023
Summary
Ultra-stripped supernovae, a rare stellar explosion with minimal ejecta, are identified in the binary system CPD -29 2176. This discovery confirms their role in forming neutron stars within binary systems.
Area of Science:
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Stellar Evolution
- Binary Star Systems
Background:
- Ultra-stripped supernovae are terminal explosions of massive stars characterized by minimal ejecta.
- They are theorized to originate from massive binary systems where the star loses its outer layers to a companion.
- These events result in neutron star formation with little to no natal kick, preserving the binary.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the evolutionary history of the high-mass X-ray binary CPD -29 2176.
- To confirm if the neutron star component in CPD -29 2176 was formed via an ultra-stripped supernova.
- To understand the progenitor systems of ultra-stripped supernovae and their role in forming binary neutron stars.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of the orbital elements (period and eccentricity) of the CPD -29 2176 binary system.
- Comparison of these orbital elements with those of known Be X-ray binaries.
- Stellar evolution modeling to trace the history of the binary system.
Main Results:
- The high-mass X-ray binary CPD -29 2176 exhibits orbital characteristics similar to Be X-ray binaries.
- The evolutionary history of CPD -29 2176 indicates its neutron star component was formed through an ultra-stripped supernova.
- This provides direct evidence for the progenitor systems of ultra-stripped supernovae.
Conclusions:
- CPD -29 2176 serves as a key example of a system formed by an ultra-stripped supernova.
- Identifying such progenitor systems is crucial for understanding the formation pathways of binary neutron stars.
- Binary neutron stars are significant in the production of heavy elements and gravitational wave events.
Related Concept Videos
01:10Detection of Black Holes
2.2K
Although black holes were theoretically postulated in the 1920s, they remained outside the domain of observational astronomy until the 1970s.
Their closest cousins are neutron stars, which are composed almost entirely of neutrons packed against each other, making them extremely dense. A neutron star has the same mass as the Sun but its diameter is only a few kilometers. Therefore, the escape velocity from their surface is close to the speed of light.
Not until the 1960s, when the first neutron...
Their closest cousins are neutron stars, which are composed almost entirely of neutrons packed against each other, making them extremely dense. A neutron star has the same mass as the Sun but its diameter is only a few kilometers. Therefore, the escape velocity from their surface is close to the speed of light.
Not until the 1960s, when the first neutron...
2.2K
01:12Reduced Mass Coordinates: Isolated Two-body Problem
1.4K
In classical mechanics, the two-body problem is one of the fundamental problems describing the motion of two interacting bodies under gravity or any other central force. When considering the motion of two bodies, one of the most important concepts is the reduced mass coordinates, a quantity that allows the two-body problem to be solved like a single-body problem. In these circumstances, it is assumed that a single body with reduced mass revolves around another body fixed in a position with an...
1.4K
01:21Schwarzschild Radius and Event Horizon
2.1K
No object with a finite mass can travel faster than the speed of light in a vacuum. This fact has an interesting consequence in the domain of extremely high gravitational fields.
The minimum speed required to launch a projectile from the surface of an object to which it is gravitationally bound so that it eventually escapes the object’s gravitational field is called the escape velocity. The escape velocity is independent of the mass of the object. Merging the idea of escape...
The minimum speed required to launch a projectile from the surface of an object to which it is gravitationally bound so that it eventually escapes the object’s gravitational field is called the escape velocity. The escape velocity is independent of the mass of the object. Merging the idea of escape...
2.1K
01:24X-ray Imaging
5.7K
German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen (1845–1923) was experimenting with electrical current when he discovered that a mysterious and invisible "ray" would pass through his flesh but leave an outline of his bones on a screen coated with a metal compound. In 1895, Röntgen made the first durable record of the internal parts of a living human: an "X-ray" image (as it came to be called) of his wife’s hand. Scientists worldwide quickly began their own experiments with...
5.7K
01:20Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Overview
2.4K
Atomic emission spectroscopy (AES) is an analytical technique used to determine the elemental composition of a sample by analyzing the light emitted from excited atoms. In AES, atoms in a sample are excited to higher energy levels by thermal energy from high-temperature sources, such as plasma, arcs, or sparks. When these excited atoms return to lower energy states, they emit light at specific wavelengths characteristic of each element. The resulting atomic emission spectrum, which consists of...
2.4K
01:14Gravitation Between Spherically Symmetric Masses
961
The gravitational potential energy between two spherically symmetric bodies can be calculated from the masses and the distance between the bodies, assuming that the center of mass is concentrated at the respective centers of the bodies.
961