Gold was not born on our planet Earth; it was forged in a violent ‘cosmic forge’ far beyond our solar system. Research published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters identifies a ‘missing link’ in the cosmos, proving that gold existed in the early universe long before rare star collisions could create it, with the identification of Magnetar Giant Flares as a significant source of heavy element production in the universe. While it has been theorised that rare neutron star mergers were responsible for creating heavy elements, Magnetar Giant Flares showed that the extremely powerful magnetic eruptions and subsequent ejections of neutron-rich matter that occur on these ultra-dense remnants of massive stars serve to provide the energy necessary to trigger the r-process (rapid neutron-capture) during occurrences of high-energy ‘starquakes’. The energy is imparted to the ejected neutron-rich material that creates precious metals such as gold and platinum. Based upon this study, it was determined that Magnetars are responsible for approximately 10 per cent of all r-process elements in the Milky Way Galaxy.
The magnetar: The reason behind space explosions that created Earth’s gold
A magnetar is considered one of the neutron stars and is the result of the core of a large star collapsing after it has gone supernova. All neutron stars are extremely dense (for instance, a teaspoon of neutron star material weighs approximately a billion tons); however, magnetars have magnetic fields 1,000 times greater than regular neutron stars and trillions of times greater than that of the Earth. Magnetars produce ‘starquakes’. Due to the enormous magnetic fields associated with magnetars, there is great stress placed on the various crusts of each star. When the crust creates enough stress, it snaps, creating a giant flare of magnetar energy; this will produce an amount of energy in just an instant that is equal to the energy produced by our sun in a total of 100,000 years!
How Magnetars create gold across the universe
Scientists have researched for decades to find out how gold can be found in very old stars if neutron star mergers happen so rarely. New research published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters has finally provided that missing link – Magnetar Giant Flares, which are huge outbursts produced by magnetars (an incredibly powerful type of neutron star) that occur when the incredible magnetic fields of a neutron star produce a starquake and then suddenly snap and release enormous amounts of energy and large amounts of neutron-rich material into space.
The physics of precious metals
Gold is not produced through normal fusion as most other elements are, but rather through the r-process (which is short for rapid neutron capture). During a magnetar giant flare, an intense flux of neutrons bombards Iron nuclei at relativistic speeds. This ‘r-process’ (rapid neutron-capture) forces atoms to grow heavy and transform into Gold (Au) and Platinum (Pt) in a fraction of a second.While a single kilonova (neutron star merger) creates a massive ‘jackpot’ of gold – far more than a single magnetar flare, these events are incredibly rare. Calculating that, the authors of Astrophysical Journal Letters estimated that Magnetar Giant Flares occur frequently, acting like a steady ‘cosmic paycheck’ that accounts for 10 per cent of the Milky Way’s heavy metal wealth.
Is the universe still making gold today
Yes, indeed! Due to the frequency of magnetar activity and the continued collisions of neutron stars, the ‘cosmic bank account’ still has lots of deposits to make. The Journal states that as long as these highly densified remnants of dead stars exist, the universe will continue to create and distribute heavy metals throughout the universe and will create the materials necessary to support the development of new planetary systems.
