This fast radio burst (FRB) is the strongest but also the most distant ever observed. And now it's the one whose origins are the most surprising. Researchers have just located it at the heart of a dense group of no fewer than seven galaxies.
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[EN VIDÉO] Repeated fast radio bursts The origin of fast radio bursts – or fast radio bursts (FRBs) – remains mysterious. Some…
They ignite and then disappear literally within milliseconds. What astronomers call fast radio bursts – or FRBs – remain among the strangest phenomena observed in our universe. Explosions that produce more energy in a single burst than our sun does in an entire year. And whose origins researchers still cannot clarify.
The most distant fast radio burst discovered emitted energy from the Sun in 30 years
In the summer of 2022, they observed one of these rapid radio bursts. But not just anyone. FRB 20220610A has since been confirmed to be not only the most energetic but also the most distant ever recorded. Back then it turned out that our universe was no older than 5 billion years – today it is almost three times older. And thanks to images returned by the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers at Northwestern University (USA) have just added another extraordinary feature.
A unique birthplace for a quick radio burst
To better understand the significance of the discovery, consider that researchers have not yet been able to pinpoint the origin of more than a few rapid radio bursts. It is therefore an achievement in itself that we have been able to determine the remote location from which FRB 20220610A departed. But more than that, astronomers reveal that the images show that this particularly fast radio burst came to us from a very compact group of at least seven galaxies. A galactic environment described as densely as there are few in our universe.
Astronomers report at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in New Orleans, USA, that the group's member galaxies appear to be interacting. They could exchange matter. Or even in the merger phase. And all of this could lead to explosions of star formation. Enough to associate FRB 20220610A with a population of relatively new stars. Which, fortunately, matches what astronomers thought about other fast radio bursts they've already studied.
No further rapid radio bursts were needed to determine their true nature
Since the first observation of a fast radio burst in 2007, astronomers have recorded nearly a thousand. And today they seem to agree that these must be compact objects such as black holes or neutron stars. However, they are still hesitant to confirm the mechanisms behind these events. To get there, they must continue to recognize others. Thanks to increasingly sensitive technologies.
And understanding the true nature of fast radio bursts will not only satisfy the curiosity of astronomers. They hope this will also help them shed light on the true nature of our universe itself. Because when radio waves from FRBs finally hit our telescopes, they may have traveled billions of years and interacted with a lot of matter along the way. Enough to inform researchers about everything they encountered, from dust clouds to interstellar space and galaxies.