A magnetic monster’s dual personality

An international team of scientists have discovered a rare hybrid star using ESA's XMM-Newton and Nasa's SWIFT X-ray-telescopes. While the first example of its kind was discovered two years ago, the team has now identified its long-sought twin. Featuring both the properties of magnetars and radio pulsars, the new hybrid star will help the team to understand more on the interior of neutron stars. The discovery was announced by ESA today, and published in The Astrophysics Journal. "For many years magnetars and radio pulsars have been considered distant relatives in the neutron star family, separated by the unusually strong magnetic fields of the former," said Roberto Mignani (UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory), co-author of the study and a member of the international team. "Now, we know that it is not the magnetic field alone which makes the difference, helping us to understand the distinction between these two neutron star classes." Both magnetars and radio pulsars are neutron stars, created when the dead cores of massive stars collapsed in on themselves having burnt up all their fuel, exploding in dramatic supernova events. Magnetars exhibit puzzling activity, consisting of frequent bursts of energetic X- and gamma-rays.