Astronomers analyzing data from the VLA Sky Survey (VLASS) have discovered one of the youngest known neutron stars—the superdense remnant of a massive star that exploded as a supernova. Images from the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) indicate that bright radio emission powered by the spinning pulsar's magnetic field has only recently emerged from behind a dense shell of debris from the supernova explosion.
In studying the characteristics of VT 1137-0337, the astronomers considered several possible explanations, including a supernova, gamma ray burst, or tidal disruption event in which a star is shredded by a supermassive black hole. They concluded that the best explanation is a pulsar wind nebula.
Initially, the radio emission was blocked from view by the shell of explosion debris. As that shell expanded, it became progressively less dense until eventually the radio waves from the pulsar wind nebula could pass through. "The object we have found appears to be approximately 10,000 times more energetic than the Crab, with a stronger magnetic field," Dong said."It likely is an emerging 'super Crab'," he added., it also is possible that its magnetic field may be strong enough for the neutron star to qualify as a magnetar—a class of super-magnetic objects. Magnetars are a leading candidate for the origin of the mysterious Fast Radio Bursts now under intense study.