Gold was not born on our planet Earth; It was forged in a violent “cosmic forge” outside our solar system. Research published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters identifies a ‘missing link’ in the universe, proving that gold was present in the early universe long before it appeared through collisions of rare stars, while identifying giant magnetar flares as an important source of heavy element production in the universe.
While it had been hypothesized that rare neutron star mergers were responsible for the formation of heavy elements, giant magnetic flares have shown that the extremely powerful magnetic outbursts and subsequent ejection of neutron-rich matter that occurs on these ultra-dense remnants of massive stars provide the energy needed to catalyze the R process (rapid neutron capture) during high-energy “starquakes.”
The energy is transferred to the ejected neutron-rich materials, which produce precious metals such as gold and platinum. Based on this study, it has been determined that magnetars are responsible for about 10% of all r-process elements in the Milky Way.
Magnetar: The reason behind it Space explosions That created the gold of the earth
A magnetar is a neutron star and is the result of the collapse of the nucleus of a large star after it turned into a supernova. All neutron stars are very dense (for example, a teaspoon of neutron star matter weighs about a billion tons); However, magnetars have magnetic fields 1,000 times larger than ordinary neutron stars and trillions of times larger than Earth’s.
Magnetars produce “starquakes.” Because of the enormous magnetic fields associated with magnetars, there is great pressure on the different crusts of each star. When the shell creates enough pressure, it explodes, creating a giant glow of magnetic energy; This will produce an amount of energy in just one moment equivalent to the energy our sun produces in a total of 100,000 years!
How magnetars create gold throughout the universe
Scientists have searched for decades to find out how gold could be found in very old stars if neutron star mergers are so rare. New research published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters has finally uncovered the missing link — Magnetar Giant Flares, massive explosions produced by magnetars (an incredibly powerful type of neutron star) that occur when the incredible magnetic fields of a neutron star produce a starquake and then suddenly explode, releasing massive amounts of energy and large amounts of neutron-rich material into space.
Physics of precious metals
Gold is not produced through natural fusion as with most other elements, but through the R process (which is short for rapid neutron capture). During the glow of a giant magnetar, an intense stream of neutrons bombards the iron nuclei at relativistic speeds. The “r process” (rapid neutron capture) forces atoms to grow heavy and transform into gold (Au) and platinum (Pt) in a fraction of a second.While a single kilonova (neutron star merger) creates a massive “jackpot” of gold — much more than a single magnetic flare, such events are incredibly rare.
Accounting for this, the Astrophysical Journal Letters authors estimate that giant magnetar flares occur frequently, acting like a constant “cosmic salary” that accounts for 10% of the Milky Way’s heavy metal wealth.
Does the universe still make gold today?
Yes! Due to frequent magnetar activity and constant neutron star collisions, the “cosmic bank account” still has plenty of deposits to build. The magazine states that as long as these high-density remnants of dead stars exist, the universe will continue to create and distribute heavy metals throughout the universe, and will create the materials needed to support the development of new planetary systems.
