The first gamma-ray eclipses were found in 'spider' star systems
In short: In a cosmic dance of destruction, one star is being slowly eroded by its partner. By observing the first-ever gamma-ray eclipses from these binary systems, astronomers can now probe the physics of some of the densest matter in the universe—environments that simply cannot be replicated on Earth.
In spider configurations, a pulsar—the dense, fast-spinning remnant left by a supernova explosion—gradually wears down its partner. These systems develop because one star in the pair evolves more quickly than the other. At first, the companion provides a gas stream that the pulsar consumes for nourishment. However, as the system evolves and the pulsar spins faster, this feeding stops. Instead, radiation and particle flows from the pulsar intensely heat the opposite side of its partner, causing material to be stripped away.
Scientists categorize these systems into two types based on the mass of the companion star: Black Widows, which have companions with less than 5% of the Sun's mass, and Redbacks, which host larger companions weighing between 10% and 50% of the Sun. By scouring over a decade of data from NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, an international team identified seven spider systems undergoing gamma-ray eclipses. These occur when the low-mass companion star passes directly in front of the pulsar from our perspective.
These observations are critical for measuring the masses of pulsars. Because pulsars are essentially balls of the densest matter measurable by humans, determining their maximum mass helps constrain physics in extreme environments. While radio data shows the pulsar's velocity and visible light tracks the companion's speed, determining the orbital tilt is essential for precise mass calculations. The newly discovered gamma-ray eclipses provide this necessary geometric data, helping to distinguish between different orbital configurations.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: FIRST EVER Gamma Ray Eclipse Discovered
- Also: NASA Scientific Visualization Studio | Fermi Spots Gamma-ray Eclipsing 'Spider Systems'
- Also: NASA’s Fermi Detects First Gamma-Ray Eclipses From ‘Spider’ Star Systems - NASA
- Also: www.sciencedaily.com — NASA's Fermi detects first gamma-ray eclipses from 'spider' star systems
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