XMM-牛顿 观察到脉冲星正在使“懒惰”的脉冲星同伴活跃起来
23 June 20082008年6月23日
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XMM-Newton has, for the first time, detected signals from both stars of a binary pulsar system in X-rays, unveiling a scientific goldmine. Each star of the closely-packed system is a dense neutron star, spinning extremely fast, radiating X-rays in pulses.
XMM-牛顿首次探测到来自两颗星都是脉冲星的双星系统的X射线，揭开了一座科学金矿。这个紧密系统的每一颗星都是致密的中子星，自旋非常快，辐射着X射线脉冲。
The binary pulsar PSR J0737-3039 was first spotted by astronomers in 2003 in radio wavelengths. X-rays can be used to probe deeper and study the system more thoroughly.
脉冲星对 PSR J0737-3039 首次被天文学家发现是2003年在射电波段。X射线可以更深入的探查和更彻底的研究该系统。
To see two pulsars orbiting each other in a binary system is extremely rare in itself. PSR J0737-3039 contains a slowly-rotating ‘lazy’ neutron star (pulsar B) orbiting a faster and more energetic companion (pulsar A).
在双星系统中看到两颗相互围绕运行的脉冲星是非常罕见的。PSR J0737-3039 包含一颗旋转稍慢“懒惰”的中子星（脉冲星B）围绕着一颗旋转较快也更活跃的同伴（脉冲星A）。
Each pulsar or neutron star is the fast-rotating, dead heart of a once-massive star. “These stars are so dense that one cup of neutron star-stuff would outweigh Mt. Everest,” says Alberto Pellizzoni, lead author of the article where the results are reported. “Add to that the fact that the two stars are orbiting really close to each other, separated by only 3 light-seconds, about three times the distance between Earth and the Moon.”
每一颗脉冲星或中子星都曾是大质量恒星死后快速旋转的核心。论文作首席者Alberto Pellizzoni说：“这些恒星都是如此致密以至于一杯中子星的材料比珠穆朗玛峰还要重，另外、实际上这两颗星的轨道真的是很近，相隔只有3光秒，大约是地球到月球距离的3倍。”
The system is a goldmine for scientists; the perfect laboratory for high-energy physics and a never-ending source of intriguing physical problems.
对科学家来说该系统就是座金矿：是高能物理理想的实验室以及引人入胜物理问题的源泉。
XMM-Newton discovered X-ray emission from both pulsars in October 2006. What Pellizzoni’s team saw could not be explained by the workings of pulsar A alone, which was known to be the only significant power plant in the system. Besides, the X-ray pulses detected from pulsar B were too strong. The energy that it lost by rotation could not account for all the X-ray radiation observed. That the observed X-rays might originate from residual internal heat of this 50 million year-old pulsar was also ruled out.
XMM-牛顿 在2006年10月发现了来自两颗脉冲星的X射线辐射。Pellizzoni 的小组所看到的不能由脉冲星A独自的活动来解释，它也是该系统中最重要的动力工厂。此外，来自脉冲星B的X射线脉冲也很强。其通过辐射损失的能量不能说明观测到的全部X射线辐射。观测到的X射线可能源自这个5千万年的脉冲星剩余的内部热量同样也被排除了。
Pulsar B is an oddity, in that it is very different from a ‘normal’ pulsar. “One possible solution for the mystery could be mutual interaction between the two stars, where the lazy star derives energy from the other,” says Pellizzoni. Pulsar B's X-ray emission might be visible because pulsar A's wind intercepts the magnetosphere of pulsar B, powering pulsar B's wind and heating up the neutron star’s surface.
脉冲星B比较怪，与“正常”的脉冲星很不同。Pellizzoni说：“一个可能的解释是两星之间共同的相互作用，懒惰的星从另一颗那里得到能量。”脉冲星B的X射线辐射能够被看到可能是因为脉冲星A的星风阻断了脉冲星B的磁层，为脉冲星B的星风提供了动力并加热中子星的表面。
The fundamental physical processes involved in these extreme interactions are a matter of debate among theoretical physicists. But now, with XMM-Newton's observations, scientists have gained new insight, providing a new experimental setting for them. In X-rays, it will be possible to study the subsurface and magnetospheres of the stars as well as the interaction between the two in that close, heated environment.
在这种极端相互作用中涉及的基础物理过程是理论物理学家们争论的实质。现在，通过XMM-牛顿的观测，科学家们获得了新的洞察力，为他们提供了新的实验设置。通过X射线将可能研究兩星的表层和磁层以及两者在近距、高温环境中的相互作用。
Given how close and dense the stars of its system are, PSR J0737-3039 is of great interest for the study of theories of strong-field gravity. Future tests of general relativity by radio observations of this system will supersede the best Solar System tests available. It is also a unique laboratory for studies in several other fields, ranging from the equation of state of super-dense matter to magneto-hydro dynamics.
由于是致密的近距双星系统，PSR J0737-3039 对研究强引力场理论的人有着巨大的吸引力。未来通过对该系统辐射的观测来测试相对论将取代最好的太阳系测试。它同样是研究其他领域如超致密物质从平衡状态到磁流体的独特实验室。
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