Astronomers have made a groundbreaking discovery, unveiling a fast radio burst (FRB) that dates back approximately 8 bn years, making it the oldest-known instance of this mysterious and powerful cosmic phenomenon. The detection of this ancient FRB, which is believed to have resulted from a merger of galaxies, continues to baffle scientists who seek to comprehend the enigmatic origins of these fleeting bursts of radio waves.
In less than a millisecond, this remarkable burst unleashed an astonishing amount of energy, equivalent to what our sun emits over the course of three decades. The discovery was made possible using the Australian SKA Pathfinder, a cutting-edge radio telescope situated in Western Australia. Additionally, the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile, one of the most potent optical telescopes worldwide, played a vital role in pinpointing the FRB's precise location.
Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are characterized by intense pulses of radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation. Despite their brevity, they outshine most other radio wave sources in the universe, given their incredibly powerful nature. Radio waves have the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum.
Astronomer Ryan Shannon, who co-led the study published in the journal Science, elaborated on the magnitude of this cosmic event, stating;
"The radio waves in FRBs are similar to those used in microwave ovens. The amount of energy in this FRB is the equivalent to microwaving a bowl of popcorn twice the size of the sun."
Up until now, the oldest-known FRB dated back to 5 bn years ago, making this recent discovery 3 bn years older. Considering the universe's age, estimated at 13.8 bn years, this FRB represents a glimpse into an ancient cosmic event. To put things into perspective, Earth itself is a relatively youthful 4.5 bn years old.
Stuart Ryder, another co-leader of the study and an astronomer at Macquarie University in Australia, remarked;
"We now know that fast radio bursts have been around for more than half the age of the universe."
Fast radio bursts were initially discovered in 2007, and their origins have remained a subject of intense speculation and investigation. The leading hypothesis points to hyper-magnetized neutron stars, known as magnetars, as the most probable source. These objects, which are the size of a small city but possess the mass of the sun, are among the most extreme entities in the universe, capable of generating the intense bursts of energy observed in FRBs.
"There are more energetic events in the universe, associated with stellar explosions or a black hole shredding a star apart. But FRBs are unique in that they produce all their energy in radio waves, with nothing seen in other bands - optical light or X-rays, for example - and that the signals are so short," Ryan Shannon explained.
Despite their relative rarity, with potentially over 100,000 occurring daily somewhere in the universe, only a handful of FRBs have been successfully traced back to their originating galaxies. The latest discovery presented additional challenges as it involved distant galaxies, which appear different from their nearby counterparts and may be merging into a single entity. Researchers believe that the source of this FRB may involve multiple galaxies, further complicating the investigation.
Furthermore, studying these enigmatic bursts may offer insights into the vast expanse of intergalactic space, shedding light on the distribution of matter in the universe. As these radio waves traverse the cosmos, they can reveal the presence of intergalactic plasma, a hot and diffuse gas composed of subatomic particles like electrons and ions.
"Most of the normal matter in the universe - this is the regular matter that makes up stars, planets, humans - is thought to reside in a diffuse cosmic web of gas between galaxies. People have been searching for this matter for decades using other techniques. Because it is so diffuse, it is nearly invisible in any other way, so was considered 'missing,'" Astronomer Ryan Shannon noted.
The detection of this 8 bn-year-old FRB not only deepens the mystery surrounding these cosmic phenomena but also highlights the potential for future discoveries that may unveil the secrets of the universe's most enigmatic and ancient events.
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