The nuclear ‘pasta’, called as such due its similarity to
the Italian food, limits the period of rotation of pulsars, and the University
of Alicante has detected the first evidence of existence of a new phase of
matter in the inner crust of neutron stars.
A study led by the University of Alicante, in which in the
National Research Council (CSIC) has participated, has detected what may be the
first observational evidence of existence of a new exotic phase of matter in
the inner crust of neutron stars (pulsars).
The latest issue of Nature Physics shows the results of a
research project that addresses one of the unknowns in the field of X-ray
pulsars, the existence of a limit higher than 12 seconds in the rotation
periods of isolated neutron stars. This limit is actually due to the existence
of new exotic phases of matter. Pulsars are neutron stars (ultracompact and
strongly magnetized stars) in rotation, which emit electromagnetic radiation
with amazing precision in their periodicity.