Dying Stars' Cocoons tagged posts

Although astrophysicists theoretically should be able to detect gravitational waves from a single, non-binary source, they have yet to uncover these elusive signals. Now researchers suggest looking at a new, unexpected and entirely unexplored place: The turbulent, energetic cocoons of debris that surround dying massive stars.

For the first time ever, the researchers have used state-of-the-art simulations to show that these cocoons can emit gravitational waves. And, unlike gamma-ray burst jets, cocoons’ gravitational waves should be within the frequency band that the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) can detect.

“As of today, LIGO has only detected gravitational waves from binary systems, but one day it will detect the first non-binary source of gravitati...

First model that is fully consistent with all FBOT observations. Ever since they were discovered in 2018, fast blue optical transients (FBOTs) have utterly surprised and completely confounded both observational and theoretical astrophysicists.

So hot that they glow blue, these mysterious objects are the brightest known optical phenomenon in the universe. But with only a few discovered so far, FBOTs’ origins have remained elusive.

Now a Northwestern University astrophysics team presents a bold new explanation for the origin of these curious anomalies. Using a new model, the astrophysicists believe FBOTs could result from the actively cooling cocoons that surround jets launched by dying stars...