• Magnetar giant flares may account for up to 10% of elements heavier than iron in the Milky Way, offering a solution to the origin of early universe gold.
• Scientists re-examined 20-year-old data from NASA and ESA telescopes, identifying a gamma-ray signal corresponding to the creation and distribution of heavy elements in a magnetar flare.
• NASA's upcoming COSI mission will further investigate magnetar flares, aiming to identify individual elements created in these events and enhance the understanding of element origins.

A long-standing mystery in astrophysics concerns the origin of heavy elements, such as gold and platinum, in the universe. While neutron star mergers are known to create these elements, they occur too late in the universe's history to account for their presence in early galaxies. Recent research suggests that magnetar giant flares, which are powerful bursts of energy released from highly magnetized neutron stars, could be an earlier source. By analyzing archival data from NASA and ESA telescopes, scientists have found evidence supporting the theory that these flares can forge heavy elements from lighter atomic nuclei, potentially explaining the origin of early gold.

• What: Scientists have discovered evidence that magnetar giant flares, powerful bursts of energy from highly magnetized neutron stars, may be a significant source of heavy elements like gold in the early universe.
• Who: Key individuals involved include Anirudh Patel, Brian Metzger, and Eric Burns. Organizations involved include Columbia University, Flatiron Institute, Louisiana State University, NASA, and ESA.
• When: The key event analyzed was a gamma-ray burst detected in December 2004. The findings were published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters in April 2025. NASA's COSI mission is scheduled for launch in 2027.
• Where: The research focuses on magnetars within the Milky Way and other galaxies. The 2017 neutron star merger observed was 130 million light-years away.

The discovery that magnetar flares may be a source of heavy elements is significant because it addresses the question of how these elements were formed in the early universe, before neutron star mergers became common. The re-examination of archival data, particularly the 2004 gamma-ray burst, provides compelling evidence for this theory. The upcoming COSI mission holds promise for further validating these findings by directly observing the elements created in magnetar flares. This research highlights the importance of reanalyzing old data in light of new theoretical models.

It’s a pretty fundamental question in terms of the origin of complex matter in the universe. It’s a fun puzzle that hasn’t actually been solved.

It's answering one of the questions of the century and solving a mystery using archival data that had been nearly forgotten.

It [is] very cool to think about how some of the stuff in my phone or my laptop was forged in this extreme explosion [over] the course of our galaxy's history.

The emerging understanding of magnetar flares as a significant source of heavy elements, including gold and platinum, marks a paradigm shift in astrophysics, potentially answering the long-standing question of the origin of these elements in the early universe. While neutron star mergers contribute to heavy element production, the capacity of magnetar flares to rapidly synthesize elements through a "rapid process" of neutron capture, and to distribute them early in the universe's history, positions them as critical contributors to the elemental composition of the cosmos. These flares, triggered by starquakes on highly magnetized neutron stars, eject material at tremendous speeds and create conditions ripe for the formation of heavy elements like uranium, potentially accounting for up to 10% of the galaxy's heavy elements. NASA's upcoming COSI mission, scheduled for launch in 2027, is poised to play a crucial role in validating these findings, identifying elements created in magnetar flares, and further refining our understanding of these extreme events. The analysis of archival data, including a previously unexplained gamma-ray signal from a 2004 magnetar flare, has already provided compelling evidence supporting this theory, suggesting that these flares are not just a source of heavy elements but also a key to understanding the chemical evolution of the universe.