Question

Understand the properties of neutron stars and how they are related to pulsars. Why does the spinning, magnetised object have to be a neutron star?

Answer 1

Neutron stars are the remnants of massive stars that have undergone a supernova explosion. They are incredibly dense, with a teaspoon of neutron star material weighing about a billion tons. Neutron stars also have strong magnetic fields and rotate at high speeds.

Pulsars are a type of neutron star that emit beams of radiation from their magnetic poles. As the neutron star rotates, these beams sweep across the universe like a lighthouse. When these beams intersect with Earth, we detect a pulse of radiation, hence the name "pulsar".

The spinning, magnetized object has to be a neutron star because of the unique properties of neutron stars. The combination of rapid rotation and a strong magnetic field is what allows pulsars to emit their characteristic beams of radiation. Other types of stars, like white dwarfs or main sequence stars, do not have the necessary combination of density, magnetic field strength, and rotation speed to produce these effects.

Step-by-step explanation:

Medium-mass stars (less than 3 times the mass of our sun) become a red giants and eventually become a supernova. A supernova is the massive explosion of a star accompanied by emission of light and matter so intense that it can outshine an entire galaxy. After a supernove, when all the accessible fuel in a medium-mass star is exhausted, the iron core collapses and proton-electron pairs are converted into neutrons. Such stars are called neutron stars. Neutron stars might spin rapidly giving off light and X-rays or they might emit pulses of energy regularly and be known as pulsars.

Answer 2

Neutron stars are ideal candidates for pulsars due to their small size and high rotational speed. They can emit pulses of radiation and complete one full spin in only a fraction of a second.

Step-by-step explanation:

Neutron stars are highly dense objects that form from the collapse of massive stars in a supernova explosion. They have properties that make them ideal candidates for pulsars, which are rapidly spinning and magnetized objects that emit beams of radiation. The spinning, magnetized object has to be a neutron star because their small size and high rotational speed allow for the emission of pulses of radiation. Neutron stars can complete one full spin in only a fraction of a second, which is the time period we observe between pulsar pulses.