2023-10-28 06:00:15
The observation of ultra-fast radio pulses from a source outside our galaxy marks a significant advance. Published on October 19 in the journal Nature Astronomy, this discovery might shed light on the mysterious origin of these phenomena.
Artistic impression of the discovery of micro-bursts. In the foreground, the Green Bank telescope (United States) which was used for this research. Incoming radio waves are represented by white, red and orange streaks.
Credit: Daniëlle Futselaar/artsource.nl
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are extremely short, high-energy electromagnetic pulses, usually of extragalactic origin. Their duration varies from a thousandth of a second (Second is the feminine of the adjective second, which comes immediately following the first or which…) to three seconds, releasing as much energy as the Sun (Le Soleil (Sol in Latin , Helios or Ήλιος in Greek) is the star…) in one day. The first FRB was detected in 2007, and since then, hundreds more have been discovered without a precise cause being established. Proposed origins vary from dense neutron stars called magnetars to energetic supernovas.
Mark Snelders, an astronomer at the University of Amsterdam and first author of the study, analyzed 30 minutes (Primary form of a document : Right: a minute is the original of an act. …) of data (In information technology (IT), a piece of data is an elementary description, often…) radio of the Green Bank telescope in West Virginia. The team discovered eight ultra-fast FRBs coming from a source 3 billion light years away. Each pulse lasted just 10 millionths of a second, making them the fastest bursts ever detected.
Another artistic impression of the discovery. The Green Bank Telescope is also shown, with radio waves similar to those in the previous image.
Credit: Daniëlle Futselaar/artsource.nl
Detecting these ultra-fast FRBs was not easy. To identify the eight pulses, the researchers had to break each second of radio images into half a million frames. Data files from many other radio telescopes do not allow such decomposition. However, knowing where and how to find them is a big step toward understanding their formation.
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