GPM J1839−10 is a potentially unique ultra-long period magnetar located about 15,000 light-years away from Earth in the Scutum constellation, in the Milky Way. It was discovered by a team of scientists at Curtin University using the Murchison Widefield Array. Its unusual characteristics violate current theory and prompted a search of other radio telescope archives, including the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope and the Very Large Array, which revealed evidence of the object dating back to 1988. The signature of the object went unnoticed because scientists did not know to look for its unusual behavior. The current understanding of neutron stars is that below a certain rate of rotation, called "the death line", they cease emissions. Uniquely, not only does GPM J1839−10 have an extremely slow rotation of approximately twenty-two minutes, it emits bursts of radio waves lasting up to five minutes, for which there is currently no generally accepted explanation.
See also GLEAM-X J162759.5−523504.3 GCRT J1745−3009 PSR J0901–4046
Further reading P. Beniamini; Z. Wadiasingh; B. D. Metzger (2020). "Periodicity in recurrent fast radio bursts and the origin of ultralong period magnetars". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 496 (3) (published 23 June 2020): 3390–3401. arXiv:2003.12509. doi:10.1093/mnras/staa1783. P. Beniamini; Z. Wadiasingh; J. Hare; K. M. Rajwade; G. Younes; A. J. van der Horst (2023). "Evidence for an abundant old population of Galactic ultra-long period magnetars and implications for fast radio bursts". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 520 (2) (published 20 January 2023): 1872–1894. arXiv:2210.09323. doi:10.1093/mnras/stad208. N. Hurley-Walker; X. Zhang; A. Bahramian; S. J. McSweeney; T. N. O’Doherty; P. J. Hancock; J. S. Morgan; G. E. Anderson; G. H. Heald; T. J. Galvin (27 January 2022). "A radio transient with unusually slow periodic emission". Nature. 601 (601) (published 26 January 2022): 526–530. arXiv:2503.08033. Bibcode:2022Natur.601..526H. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-04272-x. PMID 35082416. S2CID 246296294. Not open access. Ronchi, Michele; Rea, Nanda; Graber, Vanessa; Hurley-Walker, Natasha (27 January 2022). "Long-period Pulsars as Evidence of Supernova Fallback Accretion". The Astrophysical Journal. 934 (2): 184. arXiv:2201.11704. Bibcode:2022ApJ...934..184R. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac7cec. S2CID 250868925.
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