Afterglow of a possible kilonova explosion creates a buzz

Scientists are reporting a glow of X-Ray after a mega collision between two neutron stars. The strange glow is visible more than three years after the collision that resulted in what is called kilonova explosion. This X-Ray glow has been called "uncharted territory" by scientists.

It is being put for that the glow may have resulted from shockwave of the collision slamming into dust present in this region of space. Another theory is that the glow is generated due to ejecta of the explosion falling back into the new object, most likely a black hole

"We have entered uncharted territory here in studying the aftermath of a neutron star merger," said Northwestern’s Aprajita Hajela, who led the new study. “We are looking at something new and extraordinary for the very first time. This gives us an opportunity to study and understand new physical processes, which have not before been observed.”

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The merger of the neutron stars led to a massive explosion. This explosion, called a kilonova blast is 1000 times brighter than a classical nova.

Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers observed X-ray emissions from a jet moving very close to the speed of light produced by the neutron star merger. Starting in early 2018, the jet’s X-ray emission steadily faded as the jet continued to slow and expand. Hajela and her team then noticed from March 2020 until the end of 2020, the decline in brightness stopped, and the X-ray emission was approximately constant in brightness

The study has been published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.