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Scientists Discover Way to Send Information into Black Holes Without Using Energy

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Scientists Discover a Surprising New Behavior in Neutron Stars That Could Explain Powerful Space Explosions

Neutron stars are some of the most fascinating objects in the universe. They are formed when massive stars run out of fuel and explode in giant supernova explosions. What remains is an incredibly dense object packed with matter. A neutron star can contain more mass than our Sun while being only about 20 kilometers wide.

Because of their extreme conditions, neutron stars have been a mystery to scientists for decades. Now, a new study has revealed an unexpected behavior inside the crust of neutron stars that could help explain powerful cosmic events such as magnetar bursts, starquakes, and even some fast radio bursts.

Using advanced computer simulations, researchers led by Caplan studied how neutron star crusts bend, crack, and respond to stress. What they found was something scientists had never clearly seen before—a hidden state of steady flow that appears after the crust breaks.

The Strongest Material in the Universe

Scientists believe that the crust of a neutron star is one of the strongest materials known. It is made of atomic nuclei squeezed together under enormous pressure, forming giant crystal structures.

These crystals are much stronger than any material found on Earth. The crushing gravity of a neutron star keeps everything tightly packed together, allowing the crust to withstand huge amounts of stress.

However, even the strongest materials have limits.

Over time, powerful magnetic fields and internal movements inside a neutron star create stress in the crust. As the stress grows, the crust stretches and eventually reaches a breaking point.

Scientists have studied this process before, but most research focused on what happens just before the crust breaks. The new study looked beyond that point and discovered something surprising.

Looking at the Problem More Carefully

To understand what happens during crust failure, the researchers used large-scale molecular dynamics simulations. These simulations track the movement of millions of particles and show how materials behave under different conditions.

One important difference in this study was the speed of the simulations.

Previous studies stretched neutron star crusts relatively quickly because slower simulations require much more computing power. Caplan and his team slowed the process down by a factor of ten thousand compared to earlier work.

This allowed the material to respond more naturally, similar to what would happen inside a real neutron star.

As a result, the researchers observed a completely new behavior that had been hidden in earlier simulations.

What Happens When the Crust Breaks?

Normally, we think of breaking as a sudden event. For example, when glass breaks, it shatters. Scientists expected something similar to happen in neutron star crusts.

But the simulations showed a different story.

After the crust reached its breaking point, it did not simply fall apart. Instead, it entered a new state called plastic flow.

Plastic flow means the material continues changing shape without completely breaking apart. Instead of storing more and more stress, it slowly adjusts and flows while maintaining a relatively stable level of resistance.

This behavior is common in some materials on Earth. Metals, for example, can bend and deform without snapping immediately.

The surprising discovery was that neutron star crusts appear to do something very similar.

Different Crystals, Same Result

The researchers tested different types of crystal structures.

Some simulations used polycrystals, which contain many small crystal grains. Others used monocrystals, which are made of one large crystal.

The two types behaved differently at first.

Polycrystals started flowing plastically when they reached about 5 percent strain. Monocrystals were stronger and survived until about 11 percent strain before breaking.

However, after reaching the breaking point, both types showed nearly the same behavior.

No matter how the crystal started, the material eventually entered the same steady-flow state.

This was one of the most surprising findings of the study.

It suggests that neutron star crusts naturally evolve toward a universal state after they have been damaged.

Why Does This Happen?

The researchers believe the answer lies in tiny imperfections called defects.

Even crystals are not perfectly ordered. They contain features such as grain boundaries and dislocations that allow the material to deform.

As stress builds up inside a neutron star crust, more defects begin to form. These defects help the material adjust to the increasing strain.

According to the simulations, the crust seems to create exactly the number of defects needed to handle the stress being applied.

This process may explain why different crystal structures eventually behave in the same way.

Once enough defects form, the original structure becomes less important. The behavior of the material is then controlled by the network of defects that develops during deformation.

What Does This Mean for Magnetars?

The discovery could help explain the strange behavior of magnetars.

Magnetars are a special type of neutron star with extremely powerful magnetic fields. They are known for producing sudden bursts of X-rays and gamma rays, some of the most energetic events in the universe.

Scientists have long debated what causes these outbursts.

Some theories suggest that sudden cracking of the crust releases enormous amounts of energy. Others propose that slow plastic flow inside the crust powers the activity.

The new study suggests that both ideas may be correct.

If stress builds up over large regions, the crust may gradually flow and release energy slowly.

However, if stress becomes concentrated in smaller areas, large crystals may suddenly break, releasing stored energy in a dramatic event similar to an earthquake.

This could explain why magnetars show many different types of activity, ranging from small bursts to giant flares.

Can Neutron Stars Heal Themselves?

Perhaps the most exciting possibility is that neutron star crusts may be able to repair themselves.

Large crystals can store huge amounts of elastic energy before they finally break. After breaking, they enter the plastic-flow stage and release some of that energy.

But the story may not end there.

Over time, heat and internal processes inside the neutron star may allow damaged crystals to grow and reorganize. Small crystal grains could slowly merge into larger crystals through a process known as annealing.

If this happens, the crust could rebuild itself and become strong once again.

The cycle would then repeat.

Stress would build up, the crust would break, energy would be released, and the crust would slowly heal.

This repeated cycle could play an important role in producing recurring magnetar bursts and starquakes.

A New Window Into Extreme Physics

The findings show that neutron star crusts are more complex than scientists previously thought.

Rather than behaving like a simple rigid shell, the crust acts like a dynamic material that can bend, break, flow, and possibly heal itself.

The study also shows that physical processes familiar on Earth, such as plastic deformation and crystal defects, remain important even under some of the most extreme conditions in the universe.

Future research will focus on understanding these defects in greater detail and improving models of neutron star behavior.

By connecting microscopic crystal physics with astronomical observations, scientists hope to better explain magnetar eruptions, starquakes, fast radio bursts, and other mysterious cosmic events.

The discovery of this hidden flow state is an important step forward. It reveals that even the strongest material in the universe is not simply rigid and unchanging. Instead, it is a living, evolving structure capable of adapting to enormous stress, offering new clues about some of the universe's most powerful explosions.

Reference: Matthew E Caplan, Nevin T Smith, Ashley J Bransgrove, Charles J Horowitz, "Plasticity of Neutron Star Crusts", Arxiv, 2026. https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.06706


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