Scientists find 'radio-quiet' neutron star actually emits radio waves

Chinese scientists have detected the first pulsed radio emission from a central compact object in decades, uncovering critical clues to the formation and evolution of young neutron stars.

Central compact objects (CCOs) are among the most puzzling neutron stars, residing at the centers of supernova remnants - clouds of debris left behind after a massive star explodes.

Though CCOs shine bright in X-rays, they have evaded detection by major radio telescopes for decades, giving rise to the view that they are "radio-quiet" and possess exceptionally weak magnetic fields.

In a recent research article published in Nature Astronomy, scientists from the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Tsinghua University showed that the 1E 1207.4–5209, an intensively studied CCO that sits at the center of a nebula known as the "Cosmic Blue Eye," is in fact a faint radio pulsar rotating at the 0.4-s X-ray period. Analysis of its polarization indicates that the radio beam intersects their line of sight near the magnetic pole, confirming that its radio faintness is intrinsic. Once its supernova remnant dissipates, this source would be misidentified as an apparently gigayear-old pulsar.

The CCO's low radio flux density may explain why many supernova remnants lack detectable radio pulsars and suggests a hidden population of young, slowly rotating neutron stars, according to the article.