The Universe’s Gold May Come From a Totally Unexpected Kind of Star

You might owe that gold necklace around your neck to a moody, long-dead star from the universe’s ancient past. According to a new study, magnetars—a rare type of neutron star—may have forged some of the first heavy elements in the universe, based on evidence found buried in 20-year-old data. The data comes from a 2004 magnetar flare that expelled a massive amount of energy into the cosmos. These outbursts happen when a magnetar’s crust fractures in a “starquake,” unleashing high-energy radiation. The European Space Agency’s INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL, since retired) made the detection, picking up a mysterious gamma-ray signal from the event. But to the recent team of researchers, it’s looking a lot like the fingerprint of heavy-element formation. The group, which includes experts from Columbia University and Louisiana State University, scrutinized radiation from giant flares as a potential indicator of heavy element atoms forming from other atoms, a pro ... Read full article.