Astronomers Detect Radio Pulses from a Long-Term “Radio-Silent” Neutron Star for the First Time

The National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Department of Astronomy at Tsinghua University, together with a multinational team, recently announced that they had detected radio pulses for the first time from a central compact object long believed to be “radio silent.” The relevant findings have been published in the international academic journal Nature Astronomy. Using South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope, the research team conducted indepth observations of multiple central compact objects and discovered periodic pulse signals with a period of about 424 milliseconds from the neutron star designated 1E1207.45209 at the center of the supernova remnant PKS120951/52, confirming it as a radio pulsar. The researchers said this discovery for the first time established a direct connection between central compact objects and ordinary radio pulsars, indicating that such young neutron stars are not necessarily completely devoid of radio emission. The team also observed that the object experienced a spin glitch in 2015, and speculated that changes in its magnetosphere may be related to the activation of radio signals, but this explanation still requires validation through subsequent longterm observations.