Access
This article is part of Nature's premium content.
Published online 23 February 2005 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news050221-9
News
Quark soup may cause cosmic flashes
Gamma-ray bursts could be the signature of ultradense stars.
Intense flashes of gamma rays in far-off galaxies might be produced by a bizarre kind of star, consisting of phenomenally dense material in which the particles that make up atomic nuclei have fallen apart.
Two astrophysicists have proposed that gamma-ray (γ-ray) bursts, whose origins have foxed astronomers for decades, might be the signatures of elusive 'quark stars'.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
Comments
Reader comments are usually moderated after posting. If you find something offensive or inappropriate, you can speed this process by clicking 'Report this comment' (or, if that doesn't work for you, email redesign@nature.com). For more controversial topics, we reserve the right to moderate before comments are published.