Scientists Are Trying To Understand Why Many Stars In The Universe Are 'Glitching'

Astronomers have found that many stars in the universe seem to be "glitching." Stellar glitches happen due to large variations in structures of the inner cores of red giants, i.e., stars in the last phase of their evolutionary cycle.

Upon closer scrutiny, scientists have found that these glitches are more common than expected. For the longest time, glitching in stars was attributed to a star's rotation.

According to a new study published in the journal Nature Communications, stellar glitches affect a star's oscillations and the behaviour of passing sound waves.

Unsplash

Stars that glitch: A cosmic mystery

A particular type of red giant stars known as "red clumps" possess the same luminosity. This helps scientists use these stars as "standard candles" to find their distance, and also the distance of nearby galaxies. Essentially, we need to chart red clumps to chart the universe.

Also read:?Hubble Shows Off A 'Globular Cluster' Of Hundred Thousand Stars

It would then only make sense for scientists to check stars that are undergoing variations. "By analyzing these variations, we can use them to obtain not only the global parameters of the star, but also information on the precise structure of those objects," said study's lead author Mathieu Vrard in a press release.

Unsplash

Scientists found that from a sample of 359 red giants, 24 were showing signs of glitching - about 7%! On a cosmic scale, 7% is a massive proportion.

Also read:?New Method To See Earliest Stars Could Reveal How The Universe Came Into Being

Unsplash

Even then, scientists aren't sure what causes glitches. The new study suggests that glitches are "temporarily smoothed out by some unknown physical process that leads to intermittent changes in the structure of the core" but we'll find out more as scientists continue to uncover universal truths.

What do you think about stars glitching? Let us know in the comments below.?For more in the world of?technology?and?science, keep reading?Indiatimes.com.?

References

Landymore, F. (2022, December 18). Astronomers Intrigued by Certain Stars That Are “Glitching.” Futurism. https://futurism.com/the-byte/astronomers-stars-glitching

Vrard, M. (2022, December 16). Evidence of structural discontinuities in the inner core of red-giant stars. Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-34986-z?utm_medium=affiliate&error=cookies_not_supported&code=3ae57cfb-4918-4d35-961a-d4be32bf88fe