Seven Israeli researchers win prestigious EU grants for breakthrough science - Ynetnews

Accelerating brightness pulses in SN 2024afav support a model involving a newborn magnetar and a wobbling disk. The proposed explanation uses relativistic frame-dragging to connect the changing pulse timing with the hidden central engine. Companion spectroscopy also indicates interaction with surrounding gas, which could contribute to the explosion’s light. The fading light of SN 2024afav carried an unexpected rhythm. After the stellar explosion reached its brightest phase, its glow rose and fell through a sequence of bumps. The intervals between them grew shorter, creating an optical pattern astronomers describe as a chirp. That accelerating rhythm points to a rapidly spinning magnetar concealed inside the expanding debris. A study published in Nature interprets the pattern as evidence that a tilted disk around the newborn neutron star was wobbling under the influence of general relativity. The research, led by Joseph Farah while at UC Santa Barbara and Las Cumbres Observatory, offers a way to investigate an otherwise hidden power source.