The five-hundred-meter spherical aperture radio telescope (FAST) installed in Pingtang County, Guizhou Province, southwest China. / CFP
The five-hundred-meter spherical aperture radio telescope (FAST) installed in Pingtang County, Guizhou Province, southwest China. / CFP
An international team led by Chinese scientists discovered and located the first fast-moving radio (FRB) that is repeated persistently with the help of the world’s largest radio telescope, the five-hundred-meter spherical aperture radio telescope (FAST) of China, which indicated the evolution of FRB and can help scientists understand the origin of the brightest radio waves emanating from billions of light-years outside the galaxy.
The new FRB, named FRB190520B, was discovered in a metal-poor dwarf galaxy 3 billion light-years away.
The initial discovery was made by Niu Chenhui, a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) at FAST since May 20, 2019. Law Casey, a scientist at the California Institute of Technology who led a Jansky Very The Large Array (JVLA) program did this in July 2020.
The study, led by FAST chief scientist Li Di, entitled “Repeated Rapid Radio Associated with a Persistent Radio Source,” was published in Nature on Wednesday.
FRBs are mysterious radio flashes that last milliseconds from deep space, although little is known about their origins. Some scientists suggest that they could be evidence of advanced extraterrestrial life.
To date, less than 5% of the hundreds of detected FRBs have been reported. Only a few are active and only the FRB190520B is persistently active, providing a valuable insight into their secrets.
Optical, infrared and radio images of the field of FRB 20190520B. /Nature
Optical, infrared and radio images of the field of FRB 20190520B. /Nature
The FRB190520B has the highest ambient electron density of all FRBs and displays reliable explosion behaviors that can be detected every month. Four bursts were detected during the initial 24 seconds.
The characteristics of FRB190520B indicated that he may be a “newborn.” This finding indicates an evolutionary picture of FRBs, according to the team.
Niu said FRB190520B is the first repetitive FRB detected by FAST and is only the second FRB to be repeated with a compact persistent radio source following the discovery of the first FRB121102A repeater by the Arecibo Radio Telescope of America in 2016.
The new FAST finding suggested that the FRB phenomenon in general is probably due to a number of home populations, said Duncan Lorimer, a professor at the University of West Virginia who discovered the first FRB.
The additional results expected in the coming years as the FRB sample continues to grow will allow us to elucidate the details of this intriguing population, Lorimer added.
He told her that astronomy is a common research of all mankind and that FAST is used by international scientists, including the US, Europe and Australia.
Hou Jianguo, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told a news conference Monday that FAST has so far provided observation time for 27 projects in 14 countries.
Following the initial publication of the new discovery, more in-depth analyzes and modeling of this source have been published, which include polarization analysis, scatter time scale models, and supernova origin models, NAOC said.
(Contributed by Global Times)