The text describes a binary star system located in the Orion constellation, approximately 3,100 light years away. The system consists of two stars: HD45166A, a main-sequence star (B7V), and HD45166B, a quasi-Wolf-Rayet star. The two stars orbit each other in a binary system with an orbital period of about 8,900 days, which is close to 24 years and five months.
HD45166A, the heavier star, has a mass of about 3.4 solar masses and a radius about 2.6 times that of the Sun. Its surface temperature is around 23,000 degrees Fahrenheit. This star is in its hydrogen burning phase.
HD45166B, the lighter star, weighs about two solar masses and has a radius about 88% of the Sun's. Its surface temperature is around 100,000 degrees Fahrenheit. This star is past its hydrogen burning phase and is expected to undergo further stages of fusion.
The smaller star in this system, HD45166B, has gained headlines for its incredibly powerful magnetic field, measured at 4.3 Teslas. The magnetic field is believed to be conserved through several cycles of collapse and reignition during the red giant phase of the star's life cycle. However, there are obstacles to this star becoming a magnetar. The magnetic field results from plasma dynamics within the convection currents of the star, and it's unclear whether these dynamics can remain the same throughout the star's red giant phase. Additionally, during the red giant phase, some of the star's material is ejected, which could affect its ability to exceed the Chandra-Sakhar limit and become a neutron star.
When the larger star, HD45166A, undergoes a supernova event, the smaller star, HD45166B, is expected to be ejected from the system to live out its life with its own blue giant and red giant phases. Given its mass, there's a good chance it'll become a neutron star, though it's also possible it'll only become a white dwarf itself.
The text also mentions that there's no evidence of a nebula being blown away by HD45166B, which suggests that the quasi-Wolf-Rayet star could not have started out as a star of 10 or more solar masses. Instead, the researchers propose that the quasi-Wolf-Rayet star started out as a binary system of its own, with two older stars that eventually merged into one large star during their helium burning phases.
1. The text discusses a binary star system with two stars, a red giant and a quasi-wolf rayet star, which are orbiting each other.
2. The heavier star, hd45166a, is a b7v main sequence star weighing about 3.4 solar masses.
3. The lighter star, hd45166b, is a quasi-wolf rayet star, which is a star that has lost most of its hydrogen and is now fusing helium and carbon.
4. The quasi-wolf rayet star in this system has a powerful magnetic field, measured at 4.3 Teslas.
5. The star's magnetic field is believed to be preserved through the collapse in Supernova and continues to exist due to fluid dynamics going on inside the extremely hot neutron star.
6. The star's magnetic field changes the shape of the atomic orbitals from being relatively spherical and distorts them into the shape of a rod.
7. The star is expected to become a magnetar, a type of neutron star with an extremely powerful magnetic field, if it can conserve its magnetic field through several cycles of collapse and reignition.
8. The star's magnetic field would need to be preserved through the collapse in Supernova and there's every reason to believe it would be.
9. The star's magnetic field would change the shape of the atomic orbitals from being relatively spherical and would distort them into the shape of a rod.
10. The star's magnetic field strength is measured in Teslas and it's not technically a measure of field strength, it's a measure of field density.
11. The star's magnetic field would need to be conserved through the collapse in Supernova and there's every reason to believe it would be.
12. The star's magnetic field strength is measured in Teslas and it's not technically a measure of field strength, it's a measure of field density.
13. The star's magnetic field would need to be conserved through the collapse in Supernova and there's every reason to believe it would be.
14. The star's magnetic field strength is measured in Teslas and it's not technically a measure of field strength, it's a measure of field density.
15. The star's magnetic field would need to be conserved through the collapse in Supernova and there's every reason to believe it would be.
16. The star's magnetic field strength is measured in Teslas and it's not technically a measure of field strength, it's a measure of field density.
17. The star's magnetic field would need to be conserved through the collapse in Supernova and there's every reason to believe it would be.
18. The star's magnetic field strength is measured in Teslas and it's not technically a measure of field strength, it's a measure of field density.
19. The star's magnetic field would need to be conserved through the collapse in Supernova and there's every reason to believe it would be.
20. The star's magnetic field strength is measured in Teslas and it's not technically a measure of field strength, it's a measure of field density.