Space warping white dwarfs ? No, more likely the result of a new type of bonding

[William Gaatjes]

That is, of course the big question. But IMHO more interesting that new kinds of bonding might exist with interesting properties. I wonder what effects could happen when thinking of cyclotron radiation.
According to the top article, it is assumed that gravity waves are responsible for the faster occurring orbits. But these two stars are just falling towards each other while orbiting each other. That is pretty intuitive. Seen form the earth,the two stars eclipse one another every complete orbit. But these stars should also have some very interesting magnetic fields. Just look how the heliospheric current sheet looks from the sun from our own solar system. According to the researchers (top article), there is a change in the light at optical wavelengths. And that change is because of the gravity waves.
What makes these stars so special or the discovery from this article ?
It may very well be that the intense magnetic fields and the sub atomic particles have such an interaction combined with the rapid orbiting and eclipsing that the found effects could happen as well.

How the (calculated from gathered data) Heliospheric current sheet from the sun in our solar system looks.

Artist impression of gravity waves.

http://phys.org/news/2012-08-space-warping-white-dwarfs-gravitational.html

Gravitational waves, much like the recently discovered Higgs boson, are notoriously difficult to observe. Scientists first detected these ripples in the fabric of space-time indirectly, using radio signals from a pulsar-neutron star binary system. The find, which required exquisitely accurate timing of the radio signals, garnered its discoverers a Nobel Prize. Now a team of astronomers has detected the same effect at optical wavelengths, in light from a pair of eclipsing white dwarf stars.

"This result marks one of the cleanest and strongest detections of the effect of gravitational waves," said team member Warren Brown of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO).
The team discovered the white dwarf pair last year. (White dwarfs are the remnant cores of stars like our Sun.) The system, called SDSS J065133.338+284423.37 (J0651 for short), contains two white dwarf stars so close together—one-third of the Earth-moon distance—that they make a complete orbit in less than 13 minutes.
"Every six minutes the stars in J0651 eclipse each other as seen from Earth, which makes for an unparalleled and accurate clock some 3,000 light-years away," said study lead author J.J. Hermes, a graduate student working with Professor Don Winget at The University of Texas at Austin.
Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that moving objects create subtle ripples in the fabric of space-time, called gravitational waves. Gravitational waves should carry away energy, causing the stars to inch closer together and orbit each other faster and faster. The team was able to detect this effect in J0651.
"Compared to April 2011, when we discovered this object, the eclipses now happen six seconds sooner than expected," said team member Mukremin Kilic of The University of Oklahoma.
"This is a general relativistic effect you could measure with a wrist watch," added SAO's Warren Brown.
J0651 will provide an opportunity to compare future direct, space-based detection of gravitational waves with those inferred from the orbital decay, providing important benchmark tests of our understanding of the workings of gravity.
The team expects that the period will shrink more and more each year, with eclipses happening more than 20 seconds sooner than otherwise expected by May 2013. The stars will eventually merge, in two million years. Future observations will continue to measure the orbital decay of this system, and attempt to understand how tides affect the merger of such stars.

According to this article, white dwarfs can have immense magnetic fields.
It makes sense that the interaction between these white dwarfs are constantly producing all these electrons and nuclei as well, Fast moving electrons and other particles in a fast moving and changing complex and very intense magnetic field(s). That is becoming interesting.

http://io9.com/5927687/intense-magn...al-an-entirely-new-class-of-molecular-bonding

Intense magnetic fields around white dwarfs may instigate an entirely new class of molecular bonding

Scientists at the University of Oslo have discovered a completely new way for atoms to bond together — but these researchers won't be replicating the effect in the lab any time soon. The previously unknown bonding mechanism can only happen in the vicinity of white dwarfs where their intense density and spin creates the intense magnetic fields required. Undaunted by the challenge of reproducing ‘magnetized matter' in the lab, however, researchers believe the insight could advance the field of quantum computing.

Prior to this discovery, chemists had identified two classes of strong molecular bonds: ionic (where electrons from one atom hop over to another) and covalent (where electrons are shared between atoms). But thanks to the work of quantum chemist Trygve Helgaker, we now know that there's a third bonding mechanism — what he's calling "perpendicular paramagnetic bonding."
The discovery happened accidentally when Helgaker and his team were using a computer to predict what would happen to hydrogen molecules in an ultra-high magnetic field. Specifically, they wanted to see what would happen when they subjected computer-generated atoms to magnetic fields of about 105 Telsa, which is 10,000 times more powerful than anything that can be replicated on Earth.

Writing in Nature, Zeeya Merali explains the discovery:
The team first examined how the lowest energy state, or ground state, of a two-atom hydrogen molecule was distorted by the magnetic field. The dumb-bell-shaped molecule oriented itself parallel to the direction of the field and the bond became shorter and more stable, says Helgaker. When one of the electrons was boosted to an energy level that would normally break the bond, the molecule simply flipped so that it was perpendicular to the field and stayed together.
"We always teach students that when an electron is excited like this, the molecule falls apart," says Helgaker. "But here we see a new type of bond keeps the atoms hanging together." The team also reports that a similar effect should occur between helium atoms, which normally don't bond at all.
The atoms are held together by the way their electrons dance around the magnetic-field lines, explains Helgaker. "The way electrons move relative to the field, and their kinetic energy, can become as important for chemical bonding as the electrostatic attraction between the electrons and the nuclei," he says. Depending on their geometry, molecules will turn to allow electrons to rotate around the direction of the magnetic field.
And what's equally remarkable is that the universe can provide the conditions required to create this exact effect — namely the area surrounding white dwarfs. These stars are exceptionally dense and arise when a star collapses, but they're not big enough to go supernova or form a neutron star. These stars can shrink to an object the size of the Earth, but still contain about half the mass of our sun. These super-dense objects spin incredibly rapidly, generating huge magnetic fields that can reach over 100,000 Tesla.
This discovery has some serious implications.
First, it means that we still don't understand all the different chemical mechanisms of the cosmos. Clearly, the environmental conditions around stellar objects result in reactions that we're unable to replicate here on Earth (except through theoretical computer modeling). There may very well be others that we have yet to discover.
And second, the phenomenon suggests a new way to carry information in a quantum computer. Back in 2009, physicists created a weakly bound state called a Rydberg molecule which, theoretically speaking, could carry information. And because Rydberg molecules are highly sensitive to magnetic effects, computational scientists could use magnetic fields as a way to control the strength of the binding — to manipulate them to store and erase quantum memory as needed.

The results of Helgaker's study recently appeared in Science.

Sources: Nature and Chemistry World.

Top image via NASA. Inset image via cseligman.com.

 

[William Gaatjes]

Hey, i have forgotten the error in the IO9 text. There are researcher centers right here on Earth that have created magnetic fields strong enough to recreate the intense magnetic fields as needed in the computer simulation. The tests to verify the computer simulation could be done while only thinking about the required magnetic field(I have no idea what such a test set up would require).


http://phys.org/news/2011-08-los-alamos-world-record-pulsed-magnetic.html

Los Alamos achieves world-record pulsed magnetic field, moves closer to 100-tesla mark

Yates Coulter, left, and Mike Gordon of Los Alamos National Laboratory make final preparations before successfully achieving a world-record for the strongest magnetic field produced by a nondestructive magnet. Working at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory's Pulsed Field Facility at Los Alamos, a team of researchers achieved a field of 97.4 tesla, which is nearly 100 times stronger than the magnetic field found in giant electromagnets used in metal scrap yards.
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory's Pulsed Field Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory have set a new world record for the strongest magnetic field produced by a nondestructive magnet.
The scientists achieved a field of 92.5 tesla on Thursday, August 18, taking back a record that had been held by a team of German scientists and then, the following day, surpassed their achievement with a whopping 97.4-tesla field. For perspective, Earth's magnetic field is 0.0004 tesla, while a junk-yard magnet is 1 tesla and a medical MRI scan has a magnetic field of 3 tesla.
The ability to create pulses of extremely high magnetic fields nondestructively (high-power magnets routinely rip themselves to pieces due to the large forces involved) provides researchers with an unprecedented tool for studying fundamental properties of materials, from metals and superconductors to semiconductors and insulators. The interaction of high magnetic fields with electrons within these materials provides valuable clues for scientists about the properties of materials. With the recent record-breaking achievement, the Pulsed Field Facility at LANL, a national user facility, will routinely provide scientists with magnetic pulses of 95 tesla, enticing the worldwide user community to Los Alamos for a chance to use this one-of-a-kind capability.
The record puts the Los Alamos team within reach of delivering a magnet capable of achieving 100 tesla, a goal long sought by researchers from around the world, including scientists working at competing magnet labs in Germany, China, France, and Japan.
Such a powerful nondestructive magnet could have a profound impact on a wide range of scientific investigations, from how to design and control material functionality to research into the microscopic behavior of phase transitions. This type of magnet allows researchers to carefully tune material parameters while perfectly reproducing the non-invasive magnetic field. Such high magnetic fields confine electrons to nanometer scale orbits, thereby helping to reveal the fundamental quantum nature of a material.
Thursday's experiment was met with as much excitement as trepidation by the group of condensed matter scientists, high-field magnet technicians, technologists, and pulsed-magnet engineers who gathered to witness the NHMFL-PFF retake the world record. Crammed into the tight confines of the Magnet Lab's control room, they gathered, lab notebooks or caffeine of choice in hand. Their conversation reflected a giddy sense of anticipation tempered with nervousness.
With Mike Gordon commanding the controls that draw power off of a massive 1.4-gigawatt generator system and directs it to the magnet, all eyes and ears were keyed to video monitors showing the massive 100 tesla Multishot Magnet and the capacitor bank located in the now eerily empty Large Magnet Hall next door. The building had been emptied as a standard safety protocol.
Scientists heard a low warping hum, followed by a spine-tingling metallic screech signaling that the magnet was spiking with a precisely distributed electric current of more than 100 megajoules of energy. As the sound dissipated and the monitors confirmed that the magnet performed perfectly, attention turned to data acquired during the shot through two in-situ measurements—proof positive that the magnet had achieved 92.5 tesla, thus yanking back from a team of German scientists a record that Los Alamos had previously held for five years.
The next day's even higher 97.4-tesla achievement was met with high-fives and congratulatory pats on the back. Later, researchers Charles Mielke, Neil Harrison, Susan Seestrom, and Albert Migliori certified with their signatures the data that would be sent to the Guiness Book of World Records.

The most powerful continuous magnetic field is about 45 Tesla. Amazing indeed..

http://www.magnet.fsu.edu/mediacenter/features/meetthemagnets/hybrid.html

This magnet combines a superconducting magnet of 11.5 tesla with a resistive magnet of 33.5 tesla. It is in wide demand among scientists across the globe. Although we operate several world-record magnets, this is the only one featured in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Most of the space in this two-story instrument is taken up by the parts required to keep the superconducting magnet very cold (it's kept at 1.8 Kelvin, a scientific measure equivalent to -271 degrees Celsius or -456 degrees Fahrenheit). The magnet is connected to a closed system of pipes and machines that continually make and recycle 2,800 liters of liquid helium, pumping it around the magnet to keep it running. Even when not in use this magnet is kept cold: If it warms up to room temperature, it takes at least six weeks to cool it back down to operating temperature. Cold water is also needed – about 15,142 liters (4,000 gallons) every minute – to keep the resistive part from overheating, as it would otherwise do with the 33 megawatts of power it uses.

One of only a handful of hybrids in the world, this mighty marvel uses in its superconducting portion enough copper wiring for 80 average homes – stretched out, it would go for 6.4 kilometers (4 miles). Not surprisingly, our biggest magnet costs the most to operate: about $4,000 an hour when at full field.

 

[William Gaatjes]

And a wiki about all generated fields :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(magnetic_field)