Y ou might think a neutron star or black hole is nothing but empty darkness and, thus, immeasurable.

But they’re not vacant.

Matter is squeezed tightly into a small space creating a gravitational pull so strong even light can’t escape. They come in different sizes and move about in space, consuming their twin star and anything else in their path as fuel.

Now, Georgia College & State University Physics Professor Dr. Arash Bodaghee and Cody Cox of Milledgeville—a recent physics graduate experienced in C++ computer language and MATLAB—have calculated a dark star never previously measured.

It's a neutron star “several times more massive than the sun,” Bodaghee said. “This is the first time the magnetic field of this particular neutron star has been measured. Neutron stars are hard to find. In terms of measuring the magnetic field—that’s another step beyond finding them, and you need a very good telescope to get data for long-term observation. It’s a lot of work.”

Neutron stars and black holes are born when dying stars explode, but black holes are denser and less frequent.

Bodaghee and Cox previously worked together at Georgia College to create a first-of-its-kind map showing exactly where these roaming, dark masses were born and how far they’ve traveled.

For their latest project, the team used X-ray observations from NASA’s NuSTAR space telescope to study a “high-mass X-ray binary.”

It’s the remnant core of a massive dying star after its supernova explosion—and is now ‘eating’ its massive stellar companion.

The neutron star itself was discovered 20 years ago with the Japanese telescope ASCA. Bodaghee inherited the NuSTAR data and draft of an article from collaborators at the University of California, Berkeley.

He was tasked with completing the analysis and submitting an article.

The neutron star had a “telltale signature wiggle” in its spectrum of light that made it possible to measure. When the neutron star consumed mass from its companion, it created an X-ray—what Bodaghee calls “a candidate cyclotron line”—enabling them to measure the strength of the star’s magnetic field for the first time.

Only a few neutron stars or black holes present these lines, so this is a rare accomplishment.

Scientists estimate there are tens of thousands of neutron stars and black holes in the Milky Way but only about 150 have been identified. This newly measured high-mass binary joins a list of only 50 neutron stars with magnetic fields that have been measured.

Bodaghee discovered two of them—the other in 2016.

But he modestly brushes away praise.

“We’re not gonna win the Nobel Prize for this. We’re not solving world hunger or contributing to world peace. We’re just advancing knowledge,” Bodaghee said.  

“It’s just another incremental step in the science of these objects,” he said. “If there are only 50 of them, and we measure another one, well that’s a 2% increase. It’s incremental. We’re not going to revolutionize the field. We’re just adding another stone to the wall of knowledge.”

But Dr. Sayo Fakayode, chair of Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy at Georgia College, begged to differ. He applauded Bodaghee’s humility but stated this achievement is “a big deal” for the professor and the university.

The project took two years of collaboration with NASA, telescope study, data collection and analysis. It was published in one of the most respected periodicals for astronomy, the Astrophysical Journal. Bodaghee and Cox co-authored the article based on their findings.

Then, Bodaghee was invited to give a YouTube talk for Axis Leadership and Science Teams this summer. He also presented results to the European Space Agency in Madrid, Spain. The group is Europe’s equivalent of NASA in the United States.

“So, this is a big deal for Arash, and a this is a big deal for our department, and it’s a big deal for Georgia College & State University,” Fakayode said. “What Arash is doing is showcasing our program and the institution on the international stage. It puts our name on the global stage. That’s prestigious.”

When you Google black hole research and the journal, Fakayode said, Georgia College now comes up alongside Research-1 schools like Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology or Stanford University.

Unlike professors at larger institutions, however, Bodaghee still teaches a full load of classes. That’s always been his first love.

“We’re the only ones who aren’t a research institution,” Bodaghee said, “but we’re doing the same science they’re doing. It’s great to see Georgia College hit the big leagues. We’re equivalent in a way.”

The connection to this kind of high-impact science research greatly benefits students, as well. Astronomy isn’t a full major at Georgia College, but it’s a crucial program and one of the most popular in his department, Fakayode said. More than 230 students registered for the introductory course in Astronomy this semester.

So, while the nearest black holes to earth are 1,000 lightyears away, they seem closer to students who join Bodaghee’s lab.

The neutron star measurement and subsequent visit to Madrid is resulting in additional research opportunities for students this year. They’ll get a chance to study high-mass X-ray binaries, as well as neutron stars and black holes paired with massive companion stars.

“Science is continuously evolving. It’s really exciting,” Bodaghee said. “Depending on how many black holes there are today tells us how many were produced in the past. We can then figure out how many massive stars there were in the Milky Way a million years ago or 10 million years ago.”

Imagine what we’ll do tomorrow.

(Top image credit, NASA)