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A stellar outbreak registered two decades ago has allowed NASA and several American universities discover the possible origin of gold in the universe. This revelation helps to explain the early existence of heavy elements in galaxies formed in the early stages of the cosmos.

The key to the finding lies in an extremely rare phenomenon: A gigantic eruption of a magnetara neutron star with a magnetic field billions of times higher than the Earth. The data analysis stored since 2004 has allowed to detect a secondary signal that, until now, had no explanation.

“It is one of the fundamental questions about the origin of complex matter in the universe,” said Anirudh Patel, a researcher at Columbia University and main author of the study. The formation of gold, platinum or uranium It requires an environment with abundance of neutrons, and the Magnetars, after fracturing internally, could meet the necessary conditions.

A forgotten track since 2004

On December 27, 2004, the satellites detected a gigantic explosion of gamma rays originated in the Sagittarius constellation. Next to the main outbreak, a weaker broadcast appeared, registered minutes later, which It went unnoticed for years. This second energy peak coincides with current predictions on the creation of elements through the rapid capture process of neutrons, or process r.

The research, published in the magazine The Astrophysical Journal Lettersconcludes that flare It was able to generate an amount of heavy metals equivalent to a third of the earth’s mass. According to Brian Metzger, scientist at Flatiron Institute, “It was like solving a forgotten enigma”The calculations were confirmed by reviewing data from the comprehensive European satellite and other missions such as Rossi and Wind.

To date, the only known source of heavy elements were collisions among neutron stars. However, these types of events are scarce and occur in more recent stages of the universe. Magnetars eruptionson the contrary, they could have occurred long before and contribute to 10 % of the heavy elements that exist in the galaxy.

The model suggests that, after an internal fracture, The Magnetar cortex material is expelled to space. In that extreme environment, atomic nuclei quickly captures neutrons, generating unstable atoms that, when disintegrating, becomes metals such as gold or platinum. This process would be responsible for much of the precious metals found on Earth.

The finding shows that metal components present on electronic devices They could have a violent cosmic origin. “It is impressive to think that materials from our mobiles or rings come from so extreme explosions,” Patel said.