Ever wonder how some neutron stars^[1]
become some of the strongest magnets in outer space?

Well a team of scientists from Heidelberg University,
the Max Planck Society, the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical
Studies, and the University of Oxford, did and think they have the
answer. 

RELATED: RESEARCHERS TURN HEAT INTO
ENERGY USING MAGNET PARTICLES ^[2]

Magnetars formed by two stars
colliding 

In a report published in journal Nature, the team
of astrophysicists argued these powerful magnetars are formed by
the merger of two stars.

Relying on large computer simulations, the scientists
showed that if the merged star explodes in supernovae, a magnetar
could be produced.  While massive stars don’t have an envelope
around them like the sun that generates magnetic fields, the
scientists were still able to “observe a strong,
large-scale magnetic field at the surface of about ten percent of
them,” said Dr. Fabian Schneider from the Centre for Astronomy of
Heidelberg University, who is the first author of the study in
Nature^[3] in a press release^[4] describing the
work.  

In the past scientists lacked the tools to confirm
their theories 

While scientists have long said magnetic fields are the
result of two stars^[5]
colliding, they weren’t able to test the theory because they lacked
the computational tools that are now available. Researchers this
time were able to use the AREPO code, which is a simulation code
that runs on computer clusters at the Heidelberg Institute for
Theoretical Studies to determine the properties of Tau Scorpii, a
magnetic star that is 500 light-years away from
Earth. 

The scientists believe the star obtained its strong
magnetic field during the merger process. They are now able to
demonstrate that turbulence during the merger of two stars can
create the magnetic field.  Based on the computer simulations,
the team of astrophysicists concluded that the magnetic field
generated is enough to explain these super-strong magnetic fields
found in magnetars.  

“Magnetars are thought to have the strongest magnetic
fields in the Universe – up to one hundred million times stronger
than the strongest magnetic field ever produced by humans,” said
Friedrich Röpke from HITS in the same press release.