Researchers uncover high-rotating celestial body, defying established physics principles, reminiscent of mythical unicorns.

The Green Bank Observatory (NSF GBO) has made a significant discovery in the realm of astronomy, identifying a unique Long Period Radio Transient (LPT) named CHIME J1634+44. This object, with its unusual properties, is causing a stir among scientists and could lead to advancements in telescope technology and observational techniques.

CHIME J1634+44 stands out due to its spinning up behaviour, as indicated by its decreasing spin period. Typically, compact objects like neutron stars exhibit the opposite pattern. LPTs, known for their extremely long rotation periods, lasting between minutes and hours, are similar to Rotating Radio Transients (RRTs) and are believed to be caused by pulsating neutron stars (pulsars). However, CHIME J1634+44's rotational period is getting shorter, suggesting a different mechanism at play.

One of the most intriguing aspects of CHIME J1634+44 is its entirely circularly polarized radio bursts. Unlike other known objects, this polarization pattern suggests a different method of radio wave production. The team theorizes that CHIME J1634+44 might be part of a binary system with a shrinking orbit, possibly due to binary pairs losing energy through gravitational interaction or emitting gravitational waves (GWs).

The research team, which included scientists from the NSF's Green Bank Observatory (NSF GBO), the Very Large Array (VLA), the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME), NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory (Swift), and the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR), collaborated to study this enigmatic object.

The VLA's real-time fast transient searches using interferometric imaging provided high-frequency observations to correct for interstellar medium (ISM) distortions and offered more precise location data. CHIME's wide field of view detected the transient's periodic bursts and monitored its spin. The GBT contributed high-resolution timing data to analyse CHIME J1634+44's polarization and spin, while Swift searched for X-ray counterparts, which complemented radio observations from the other observatories.

The combined abilities of these telescopes allowed the scientists to detect and study the object's unusual signals in detail. The observation location of the object CHIME J1634+44 is at coordinates right ascension 16h 34m and declination +44°.

The study of CHIME J1634+44's unusual signals provided insights into the behaviour of LPTs and offered a unique opportunity to test theories about neutron stars and white dwarfs. The findings, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, could help astronomers address the mysteries of rotating neutron stars, one of the most enigmatic objects in the cosmos.

Moreover, this discovery expands the known population of LPTs and challenges existing models of neutron stars and white dwarfs, implying the existence of many more such objects. The study was led by Ingrid Stairs, an astronomer at the University of British Columbia in Canada. This groundbreaking discovery opens new avenues in radio astronomy and could pave the way for a deeper understanding of the universe.