- New discovery from University of Manchester scientists sheds light on fast radio bursts.
- A very precise cyclical pattern was observed, lasting 157 days.
- This could be linked to the orbital motion of a massive star, a neutron star or a black hole, say the study's authors.
The rapid radio bursts, emitted from Space, still keep their share of mysteries. But the discovery of an international team of astronomers, reported this Monday, June 8 in the journal Monthly Notices of Royal Astronomical Society , provides one more clue to understand the origin of these enigmatic very energetic and very brief radio pulses of light, does not for a few milliseconds.
A precise 157-day cycle
The existence of fast radio bursts [Fast radio burst in English - FRB] has been known since 2007, recalls the press release from the University of Manchester which relates this new discovery. Their presence was then associated with cataclysmic events, such as the explosion of a star, for example. We also knew that these rapid radio bursts emitted at regular intervals through the study of FRB 180916.J0158 + 65.
This new study looked at another rapid radio burst, the FRB 121102, discovered in 2012 by the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico. Four years later, scientists also discovered that the signal was repeating. What the work of the University of Manchester brings then is that not only do the rapid radio bursts of FRB 121102 repeat, but they also follow a very precise cyclical pattern. Lasting 157 days. More specifically, the rapid radio bursts are observed in a period of approximately 90 days, then silence ensues for 67 days.
A small step in understanding FRB?
How to interpret it? The presence of a cyclic pattern in the appearance of these radio light pulses "could imply that they are linked to the orbital movement of a massive star, a neutron star or a black hole", the authors argue of the study in their press release. A hypothesis to dig, which will require to observe again bursts radio fast emitted cyclically.
"This exciting discovery shows how little we know about the origin of FRBs," said Duncan Lorimer, professor of astronomy at the Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology at the University of West Virginia, who helped develop the data analysis technique that led to the discovery of FRBs.
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