"Probing the Pulsations of the Brightest X-ray Pulsar, M82 X-2"

Chinese astronomers have utilized NASA's Chandra spacecraft and ESA's XMM-Newton satellite to study the pulsations of M82 X-2, an ultra-luminous X-ray pulsar (ULXP) located in the Cigar Galaxy, revealing a long-term spin-down trend interspersed with spin-up events over two decades. This behavior suggests varying accretion rates and a possible magnetic threading cause, with an estimated pulsar magnetic field of 12 trillion Gauss. The findings, published on the arXiv pre-print server, contribute to the understanding of ULXPs, which are neutron stars with emissions exceeding those of a million suns.