'Dying Stars' Cocoons Could Be New Source of Gravitational Waves'
September 20, 2023
Astronomers have discovered that the cocoons of debris that surround dying stars could be a new source of gravitational waves. Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of space-time that are caused by massive objects moving at high speeds or colliding with each other.
Until now, astronomers have only detected gravitational waves from binary systems, which are two massive objects orbiting each other. One example of a binary system is a black hole and a neutron star orbiting each other. When these two objects collide, they produce a burst of gravitational waves that can be detected by observatories on Earth.
However, new research suggests that gravitational waves could also be emitted by solitary stars. One way this could happen is through the cocoons of debris that surround dying massive stars.
As a massive star dies, it collapses under its own gravity. This collapse can produce a jet of material that shoots out of the star at high speeds. As the jet collides with the surrounding material, it forms a cocoon of debris.
This cocoon is a very turbulent place, where hot gases and debris mix randomly and expand in all directions. As the energetic bubble accelerates from the jet, it perturbs space-time to create a ripple of gravitational waves.
The researchers used state-of-the-art simulations to show that the gravitational waves emitted by these cocoons are within the frequency band that the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) can detect. This means that LIGO could potentially detect gravitational waves from dying stars in the future.
If LIGO is able to detect gravitational waves from dying stars, it would provide astronomers with a new way to study these enigmatic objects. Gravitational waves could reveal information about the structure and dynamics of dying stars, as well as the processes that lead to their collapse.
The discovery that dying stars' cocoons could be a new source of gravitational waves is an exciting one. It opens up new possibilities for astronomers to study these objects and learn more about how they die.
