Mignani, R;
Testa, V;
Gonzalez, D;
Taverna, R;
Zane, S;
Wu, K;
Lo Curto, D;
(2017)
Evidence of vacuum birefringence from the polarisation of the optical emission from an Isolated Neutron Star.
In: Zioutas, K and Anastassopoulos, V, (eds.)
13th Patras Workshop on Axions, WIMPs and WISPs.
(pp. pp. 163-167).
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Abstract
Isolated Neutron Stars are some of the most exciting stellar objects known to astronomers: they have the most extreme magnetic fields, with values up to 1015 G, and, with the exception of stellar-mass black holes, they are the most dense stars, with densities of ≈ 1014 g cm−3 . As such, they are perfect laboratories to test theories of electromagnetism and nuclear physics under conditions of magnetic field and density unattainable on Earth. In particular, the interaction of radiation with strong magnetic fields is the cause of the vacuum birefringence, an effect predicted by quantum electrodynamics in 1936 but that lacked an observational evidence until now. Here, we show how the study of the polarisation of the optical radiation from the surface of an isolated neutron star yielded such an observational evidence, opening exciting perspectives for similar studies at other wavelengths.
| Type: | Proceedings paper |
|---|---|
| Title: | Evidence of vacuum birefringence from the polarisation of the optical emission from an Isolated Neutron Star |
| Event: | 13th Patras Workshop on Axions, WIMPs and WISPs, 15 - 19 May 2017, Thessaloniki, Greece |
| Location: | Thessaloniky Greece |
| Dates: | 15 May 2017 - 19 May 2017 |
| ISBN-13: | 9783945931172 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3204/DESY-PROC-2017-02 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.3204/DESY-PROC-2017-02 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Space and Climate Physics |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10039120 |
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