An international team of astronomers, led by Stuart Ryder and Ryan Shannon, discovered an eight-billion-year-old fast radio burst (FRB), marking the most distant one found. Their findings, published in Science, set a 50% distance record for FRBs.
These millisecond-long, intense radio bursts from unidentified cosmic sources released energy equivalent to 30 years of the Sun's output in a fraction of a second.
Most Distant Fast Radio Burst
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are intense, brief radio wave emissions from distant sources, with the latest discovery, FRB 20220610A, being exceptionally energetic, emitting the equivalent of 30 years of the Sun's energy in less than a millisecond.
These enigmatic cosmic phenomena have been detected since the first one in 2007, providing astronomers with intriguing insights into the universe's most distant and powerful events.
Observing FRBs poses a challenge as they emit exceptionally bright radio waves that endure for just milliseconds before vanishing. Radio telescopes have been instrumental in tracking these swift cosmic phenomena, with the ASKAP radio telescope array in Western Australia playing a pivotal role. It was through ASKAP that astronomers detected the FRB in June 2022 and accurately pinpointed its origin.
Dr. Stuart Ryder, a coauthor of the study from Macquarie University, explained that they employed ASKAP's radio dishes to pinpoint the burst's source, and then they utilized the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile to locate the older, more distant source galaxy, potentially within a group of merging galaxies.
The research team traced the source of the burst to a region housing two or three galaxies in the process of merging, interacting, and generating new stars. This discovery aligns with prevailing theories suggesting that fast radio bursts may originate from magnetars, highly energetic objects resulting from stellar explosions.
Scientists propose that FRBs could serve as a unique tool to "weigh" the universe by measuring the unaccounted-for matter located between galaxies.
According to coauthor Ryan Shannon, a professor at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia, more than half of the expected normal matter in the Universe is unaccounted for. This missing matter is believed to reside in the intergalactic space, potentially being too hot and diffuse for conventional observation methods.
FRBs Provide Clues About the Universe
FRBs provide valuable information about the cosmic terrains they traverse, aiding scientists in comprehending the conditions they pass through in outer space.
A 2020 study by the late Australian astronomer Jean-Pierre 'J-P' Macquart reveal that FRBs can also function as a means to estimate the mass of the Universe by unveiling the matter scattered among galaxies.
Current methods for determining the Universe's mass generate inconsistent outcomes. Scientist Ryan Shannon, part of the study, underscores the issue, noting that over half of the expected normal matter in the Universe appears to be missing.
This hidden matter likely resides in intergalactic voids, potentially in a highly heated and sparsely populated state, making it challenging to observe through traditional means.
FRBs possess the unique ability to detect ionized material, even in regions that appear nearly devoid of matter, allowing scientists to measure the extent of material located between galaxies. The upcoming international SKA telescopes, currently under construction in Western Australia and South Africa, are expected to enhance this capability, enabling the detection of even older and more remote FRBs.
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