Scientists have turned plastic into diamonds using X-rays, and NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) helped uncover the secrets of exploded star Cassiopeia A. This was the first object that object IXPE observed after it began collecting data because its shock waves are some of the fastest in the Milky Way.
Particles swept up by shock waves in Cas A do not fly away from the supernova remnant due to their ultra-fast speeds and also because they are trapped by magnetic fields in the wake of the shocks. These are then forced to spiral around the magnetic field lines, and the electrons generate an intense kind of light called “synchrotron radiation,” which is polarized. By studying this polarized light, scientists can uncover what’s happening inside Cas A at very small scales. IXPE data reveals that the magnetic fields in X-rays tend to be aligned in radial directions even very close to the shock fronts.
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These IXPE results were not what we expected, but as scientists we love being surprised. The fact that a smaller percentage of the X-ray light is polarized is a very interesting – and previously undetected – property of Cas A,” said Dr. Jacco Vink of the University of Amsterdam and lead author of the paper describing the IXPE results on Cas A.
