A team of researchers led by Mario Sukerchia of Columbia's Antioquia University has proposed a new explanation for the unusual decrease in brightness of the star K8462852 based on recent observations and computer simulations. Experts suggest that the unusual behavior of the star can be explained by "the manifestation of the signatures of a saturn-like exoplanet."
“We studied the dynamics of the deviations and came to the conclusion that the irregular and abnormal signals could be explained by the transit transitions of the planet with rings,” the scientists report.
The first unusual behavior of the star KIC 8462852 was noted in 2015 by a group of researchers at Yale University led by astronomer Tabeta Boyajian. Usually, when observing stars from Earth, the apparent decreases in brightness can be explained by the planets passing by this star. But in the case of the star KIC 8462852, nicknamed Tabby's star, this explanation did not match the observed anomalies. Irregular levels of dimming were observed each time. As a result, as from a cornucopia, various theories and assumptions poured down, trying to explain the strange behavior of the star. Comets, asteroids and even a colossal "alien megastructure" were cited as examples.
Sukerkia and his colleagues tested their idea using computer simulations, trying to figure out how light can be bent under the influence of a transitional planet that has rings and is at a distance of about 1/10 of the distance between the Earth and the Sun. As expected, the light is blocked first by the planet's rings themselves, and then a more significant decrease in brightness occurs at the moment when the planet covers part of the star. After that, the rings again block part of the light, but in a smaller volume. Scientists say that such a transit passage will look different every time, since the rings at the time of observation can be at different angles.
Further simulations showed that when a planet with rings is close, the star can act on them, imparting a different degree of oscillation and tilt, which, in turn, also adds explanations for anomalous changes in the luminosity of this star.
“We have found that tilted annular structures can undergo short-term changes in shape and orientation, which in turn can manifest as significant changes in the depth and time of the transition, even within each successive dimming.”
For some, of course, such observations and conclusions will not be enough. For example, according to Keyvan Stassoon, professor of astrophysics at Vanderbilt University in Texas, the nature of quasiperiodic or periodic blackouts in Tabby's star is still unclear. And the existence of an exoplanet with rings is only an assumption, not an established fact.
“The goal of this study was to prove to the community that there is a mechanism that can actually cause such light anomalies,” Stassun shared in an interview with New Scientist.
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“These changes can be created by the dynamics of motion of planetary satellites or by the rings of these planets. Moreover, they can occur in such systems so quickly that they can be detected literally in just a few years."
The scientist admits that this explanation can be written down as one of the most likely, but at the same time reports that his team, like other researchers, will most likely continue to observe Tabby's star, compare the results and seek the truth that can finally confidently explain its unusual behavior.
Nikolay Khizhnyak