Search Publications
A magnetar-powered X-ray transient as the aftermath of a binary neutron-star merger
Lehmer, B. D.; Bauer, F. E.; Brandt, W. N. +14 more
Mergers of neutron stars are known to be associated with short γ-ray bursts1-4. If the neutron-star equation of state is sufficiently stiff (that is, the pressure increases sharply as the density increases), at least some such mergers will leave behind a supramassive or even a stable neutron star that spins rapidly with a strong magneti…
An X-ray chimney extending hundreds of parsecs above and below the Galactic Centre
Haberl, F.; Churazov, E.; Nandra, K. +6 more
Evidence has mounted in recent decades that outflows of matter and energy from the central few parsecs of our Galaxy have shaped the observed structure of the Milky Way on a variety of larger scales1. On scales of 15 parsecs, the Galactic Centre has bipolar lobes that can be seen in both the X-ray and radio parts of the spectrum2,3…
No detection of methane on Mars from early ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter observations
Montmessin, Franck; Belyaev, Denis A.; Fedorova, Anna A. +123 more
The detection of methane on Mars has been interpreted as indicating that geochemical or biotic activities could persist on Mars today1. A number of different measurements of methane show evidence of transient, locally elevated methane concentrations and seasonal variations in background methane concentrations2-5. These measur…
A rapidly changing jet orientation in the stellar-mass black-hole system V404 Cygni
Soria, Roberto; Sarazin, Craig L.; Jonker, Peter G. +18 more
Powerful relativistic jets are one of the main ways in which accreting black holes provide kinetic feedback to their surroundings. Jets launched from or redirected by the accretion flow that powers them are expected to be affected by the dynamics of the flow, which for accreting stellar-mass black holes has shown evidence for precession1
A 100-kiloparsec wind feeding the circumgalactic medium of a massive compact galaxy
Coil, Alison; Moustakas, John; Diamond-Stanic, Aleksandar M. +9 more
Ninety per cent of baryons are located outside galaxies, either in the circumgalactic or intergalactic medium1,2. Theory points to galactic winds as the primary source of the enriched and massive circumgalactic medium3-6. Winds from compact starbursts have been observed to flow to distances somewhat greater than ten kiloparse…
A massive white-dwarf merger product before final collapse
Langer, Norbert; Kniazev, Alexei Y.; Gvaramadze, Vasilii V. +4 more
Gravitational-wave emission can lead to the coalescence of close pairs of compact objects orbiting each other1,2. In the case of neutron stars, such mergers may yield masses above the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff limit (2 to 2.7 solar masses)3, leading to the formation of black holes4. For white dwarfs, the mass of t…
A recurrent nova super-remnant in the Andromeda galaxy
Ness, J. -U.; Henze, M.; Shafter, A. W. +15 more
The accretion of hydrogen onto a white dwarf star ignites a classical nova eruption1,2—a thermonuclear runaway in the accumulated envelope of gas, leading to luminosities up to a million times that of the Sun and a high-velocity mass ejection that produces a remnant shell (mainly consisting of insterstellar medium). Close to the upper m…
The seventh inner moon of Neptune
Showalter, M. R.; de Pater, I.; Lissauer, J. J. +1 more
During its 1989 flyby, the Voyager 2 spacecraft imaged six small moons of Neptune, all with orbits well interior to that of the large, retrograde moon Triton1. Along with a set of nearby rings, these moons are probably younger than Neptune itself; they formed shortly after the capture of Triton and most of them have probably been fragme…
Mars methane hunt comes up empty, flummoxing scientists
Witze, Alexandra
Trace Gas Orbiter spacecraft did not find the gas in red planet's atmosphere during its first months of operation.
Publisher Correction: Martian dust storm impact on atmospheric H2O and D/H observed by ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter
Montmessin, Franck; Belyaev, Denis A.; Fedorova, Anna A. +65 more
The surname of author Cathy Quantin-Nataf was misspelled `Quantin-Nata' , authors Ehouarn Millour and Roland Young were missing from the ACS Science Team list, and minor changes have been made to the author and affiliation lists; see accompanying Amendment. These errors have been corrected online.