Puzzling pulsations explained
Article Abstract:
V471, an eclipsing binary consisting of a white dwarf star and a main-sequence K2 dwarf star orbiting each other, emits X-ray pulsations at intervals of slightly more than nine minutes. This pulsations probably result as the white dwarf's rotating magnetic poles react to material that the K2 dwarf is ejecting. J.C. Clemens and colleagues compared optical data from the Whole Earth Telescope and X-ray data from the ROSAT satellite to determine that the magnetic-rotator model is likelier than the white dwarf's non-radial oscillations as an explanation for the pulsations.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1992
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Discovery of hard X-ray pulsations from the transient source GRO J1744 - 28
Article Abstract:
An astronomical source GRO J1744 - 28 is a source of coherent, hard X-ray bursts which have a period of 467 milliseconds. The object is most likely a magnetized neutron star which is gathering gas from a low-mass companion star. Observations show that the pulsation rate is increasing and this indicates the formation of an accretion disk. The neutron star is spinning faster due to transfer of matter from the disk to the star.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1996
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Fast pulsations in a Wolf-Rayet star
Article Abstract:
A Wolf-Rayet star, identified as WN8 star HD965548 and also called WR40, has been found to pulse at regular intervals of 627 seconds. Wolf-Rayet stars are the cores left behind after stellar winds strip away the outer layers of large stars. The measurement of WR40's pulse rate confirmed the hypothesis that such pulsating stars exist though the exact mechanism causing the pulsation has yet to be determined.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1992
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