Overview
- The peer-reviewed study was published in Nature on March 11, 2026, reporting strong evidence that SN 2024afav was powered by a newborn magnetar.
- Las Cumbres Observatory tracked the 2024 event for more than 200 days about a billion light-years away, recording four rhythmic bumps described as a chirp.
- Modeling shows only Lense–Thirring precession from a misaligned magnetar and accretion disk reproduces the timing of the oscillations.
- Co-authors including Alex Filippenko say the signal provides definitive evidence of magnetar formation, bolstering magnetar-engine theories advanced by Dan Kasen and Stan Woosley.
- The team notes other mechanisms may power some superluminous supernovae, with upcoming surveys such as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory expected to gauge how common chirping events are.