Amazing stuff! Unfortunately, these FRBs don't appear to be generated by aliens trying to contact us or? 😊
"... Since the first FRB was detected in 2007, hundreds have been spotted. The observations all involve extremely energetic pulses of radio-frequency light ...
Evidence is mounting that the source of FRBs is magnetised neutron stars called magnetars.
New research ... FRBs are more likely to occur in large, active galaxies than low-mass ones. The finding also sheds light on how magnetars themselves might form. ..."
From the abstract:
"Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration events detected from beyond the Milky Way. FRB emission characteristics favour highly magnetized neutron stars, or magnetars, as the sources, as evidenced by FRB-like bursts from a galactic magnetar, and the star-forming nature of FRB host galaxies. However, the processes that produce FRB sources remain unknown. Although galactic magnetars are often linked to core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe), it is uncertain what determines which supernovae result in magnetars. The galactic environments of FRB sources can be used to investigate their progenitors. Here, we present the stellar population properties of 30 FRB host galaxies discovered by the Deep Synoptic Array (DSA-110). Our analysis shows a marked deficit of low-mass FRB hosts compared with the occurrence of star formation in the Universe, implying that FRBs are a biased tracer of star formation, preferentially selecting massive star-forming galaxies. This bias may be driven by galaxy metallicity, which is positively correlated with stellar mass. Metal-rich environments may favour the formation of magnetar progenitors through stellar mergers, as higher-metallicity stars are less compact and more likely to fill their Roche lobes, leading to unstable mass transfer. Although massive stars do not have convective interiors to generate strong magnetic fields by dynamo11, merger remnants are thought to have the requisite internal magnetic-field strengths to result in magnetars. The preferential occurrence of FRBs in massive star-forming galaxies suggests that a core-collapse supernova of merger remnants preferentially forms magnetars."
Mighty Radio Bursts Linked to Massive Galaxies (original news release ) "Since their discovery in 2007, fast radio bursts—extremely energetic pulses of radio-frequency light—have lit up the sky repeatedly, leading astronomers on a chase to uncover their origins. Currently, confirmed fast radio bursts, or FRBs, number in the hundreds, and scientists have assembled mounting evidence for what triggers them: highly magnetized neutron stars known as magnetars (neutron stars are a type of dead star). One key piece of evidence came when a magnetar erupted in our own galaxy and several observatories, including Caltech's STARE2 (Survey for Transient Astronomical Radio Emission 2) project, caught the action in real time."
This photo montage shows the antennas of the Deep Synoptic Array-110, which are used to discover and pinpoint the locations of fast radio bursts (FRBs). Above the antennas are images of some of the FRB host galaxies as they appear on the sky. The galaxies are remarkably large, challenging models that describe FRB sources.
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