In 2 months of observation, the SETI Institute team identified 35 fast radio bursts without any type of pattern in the intervals, which creates strangeness
15 Dec 2023 – 7:21 pm
(updated at 8:25 pm)
For years, astronomers have been investigating the mysterious fast radio bursts (FRBs), lasting milliseconds, that come from distant points outside the Milky Way. They are rapid, extremely bright explosions, with unknown origins and consequences, but which generate as much energy in a thousandth of a second as the Sun does in an entire year.
Photo: ESO/M. Grain knife / Canaltech
Most of the time, mysterious radio bursts are punctual and single. However, some are known to repeat themselves and generate other subsequent bursts. This is the case with the fast radio burst FRB 20220912A, recently identified by the SETI Institute in the United States.
Mysterious explosions in space
In a study published on Wednesday (13) in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the institute’s astronomers describe the strange behavior of FRB 20220912A. This is because they are more repetitive explosions than those previously detected.
In 541 hours of observations with the Allen Telescope Array (ATA), in California, the equivalent of two months of monitoring, the team counted 35 explosions of mysterious origin.
Next, check the records:
35 mysterious radio explosions are identified with a telescope in California (Image: Sofia Z. Sheikh et al., SETI Institute/CC BY 4.0)
Foto: Canaltech
Like most repeating FRBs, each burst went from higher frequencies to lower frequencies. By converting the frequencies of the bursts into notes on a xylophone, scientists say they sound like a cosmic whistle, which is loud in the first few seconds and softens towards the end.
When analyzing the frequency of this cosmic event, astronomers were unable to identify a pattern in the intervals between bursts, which further reinforces the unpredictable nature of the explosions.
What is the origin of the gusts?
At the moment, experts still don’t know what the source of these radio bursts is. Among the possible hypotheses, it is possible to suggest that they originate from magnetares, that is, from the strongly magnetized cores of dead stars. Another idea is that they arise from collisions between dense neutron stars or merging white dwarfs.
Regardless of the permanence of the mystery about the origins, “this work proves that new telescopes with unique capabilities, like the ATA, can provide a new angle on the outstanding mysteries in the science of FRBs”, says Sofia Sheikh, researcher at the SETI Institute, in a note . For now, the research is far from complete.
Source: The Royal Astronomical Society e arXiv
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2023-12-15 22:21:00
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