An international team of scientists has for the first time observed vacuum birefringence near a magnetar, confirming a quantum hypothesis proposed by physicist Werner Heisenberg nearly 90 years ago, reports infohub.kz.
Astronomers from Swinburne University of Technology, led by Marcus Lower, studied the radiation from magnetar 1E 1547.0-5408, a neutron star with an extremely strong magnetic field. The research provides evidence for Heisenberg's hypothesis, formulated in the 1930s, which posits that a vacuum is not completely empty but filled with constantly appearing and disappearing virtual particles.
According to quantum electrodynamics, an extremely strong magnetic field affects this medium, altering the way light passes through it. Using the Murriyang radio telescope and the IXPE space observatory, the scientists recorded record levels of X-ray polarization from the magnetar, ranging from 40% to 80%.
Data analysis, conducted on the Ngarrgu Tindebeek supercomputer, confirmed that the star's pole orientation is ideal for observing the vacuum birefringence effect. If the results are confirmed, physicists will gain a new tool for testing quantum laws under extreme conditions in the universe.