NASA Study Reveals Magnetars May Be Source of Gold in Universe
NASA-backed study finds magnetar flares may have forged early heavy elements like gold and platinum, solving a long-standing cosmic mystery.
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A team led by Columbia University doctoral candidate Anirudh Patel reports that powerful eruptions from magnetars, a type of neutron star, may have forged and dispersed heavy elements such as gold and platinum early in the universe.
Published this week in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the study revisits data from ESA’s INTEGRAL satellite, NASA’s RHESSI and the Wind observatory to identify gamma-ray signatures matching predictions for element synthesis during magnetar flares. Patel’s analysis indicates that these flares could account for up to 10 percent of heavy elements in the Milky Way.
The research addresses a longstanding gap in astrophysics. Big bang nucleosynthesis created only hydrogen, helium and trace lithium. Subsequent stellar fusion formed elements up to iron, but the origin of heavier atoms remained unresolved. Neutron-rich conditions during magnetar eruptions offer a rapid capture environment that drives nuclei up the periodic table.
Louisiana State University astrophysicist Eric Burns, a study co-author, credits revisiting archived data for the breakthrough. “Gamma-ray records from the 2004 flare contained the key signals,” he said. The team matched these signals to theoretical models that describe how brief but intense neutron flows build heavier nuclei.
Earlier hypotheses focused on collisions between neutron stars, as observed in 2017, but those events occur too late to explain early galactic enrichment. Magnetars form shortly after massive stars collapse, making them prime candidates for seeding young galaxies with elements heavier than iron.
Looking ahead, NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) and the planned COSI gamma-ray observatory, slated for launch in 2027, will scan for similar bursts. Detecting element-specific gamma lines in future flares could confirm magnetars’ role in cosmic chemistry.
Patel noted the broader implications for planetary science and technology. “Materials in phones and jewelry trace back to processes in space,” he said. The study opens a new window on how extreme astrophysical events shape the elemental makeup of the universe.
