NEW ORLEANS—Astronomers have made a breakthrough in unraveling the mystery surrounding fast radio bursts (FRBs), thanks to the detection of one of the most powerful and distant FRBs ever recorded. The signal, named FRB 20220610A, traveled 8 billion light-years to reach Earth before it was detected on June 10, 2022. This particular FRB lasted less than a millisecond but was four times more energetic than any previously recorded bursts.
Researchers used the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope in Western Australia and the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile to trace the origin of the burst. Their observations led them to a group of at least seven galaxies that are so close to each other that they could all fit inside the Milky Way galaxy.
The nature of this galactic group, known as a compact group, suggests that the fast radio burst could have been triggered by the galaxies merging or interacting with each other. Until now, FRBs have largely been traced back to isolated galaxies, and this discovery provides valuable insights into the different types of environments in which these bursts can originate.
According to lead study author Alexa Gordon, a doctoral student in astronomy at Northwestern University’s WeinbergCollege of Arts and Sciences, the Hubble Space Telescope played a crucial role in determining that the FRB came from the group of galaxies. Without the Hubble’s imaging, they would have been unable to confirm whether the burst originated from a single galaxy or an interacting system.
Fast radio bursts continue to perplex astronomers, and the detection of this burst in a compact group opens up new possibilities for understanding their origin. Currently, nearly 1,000 FRBs have been detected, but only a fraction of them have been pinpointed to specific host galaxies. The discovery of the burst’s birthplace in a compact group is truly exceptional and provides astronomers with a rare opportunity to study the interaction and merging of galaxies.
Unraveling the cause of fast radio bursts is crucial to gaining a deeper understanding of the nature of the universe. As these bursts travel through space for billions of years, they interact with cosmic material, and studying the effects of this interaction can provide valuable insights about the universe’s composition.
Further research and the development of increasingly sensitive detection methods are needed to unravel the mysteries of fast radio bursts. Scientists hope to discover more bursts and investigate their progenitors and origins. The Hubble observations have shed light on the surprising types of environments where these mysterious events occur, bringing us one step closer to unlocking the secrets of the universe.