FRB | Earth has received over a thousand strange radio signals from space

An extreme episode of FRB (Fast Radio Bursts) cosmic explosions with 1,652 independent signals in a 47-day interval was captured by China’s giant radio telescope FAST.

Recorded as of August 29, 2019, more than the number reported in all other posts combined. A set of bursts of this type allows the determination, for the first time, of the characteristic energy and the energy distribution of any FRB, thus shedding light on the central motor that powers the FRB, according to the scientists of the NAOC (Astronomical Observatories of Chinese Academy of Sciences) who now publish results in Nature.

FRBs were first detected in 2007, while producing a year’s worth of the Sun’s total energy production. The origin of FRBs is still unknown. Although even aliens have been considered in models for FRB, natural causes are clearly favored by the observations. Recent outbreaks include exotic hypermagnetized neutron stars, black holes, and cosmic strings left over from the Big Bang.

Scientists have found that a small fraction of FRBs repeat themselves. This phenomenon facilitates follow-up studies, including

FRB 121102 is the first known repeater and the first well-located FRB. Scientists have identified its origin in a dwarf galaxy. Also, this FRB is clearly associated with a persistent radio source. Both clues are crucial to solving the cosmic mystery of the FRBs. and is commonly described as “seasonal”.

During the commissioning phase of the FAST radio telescope, the team noticed that FRB 121102 was operating with frequent bright pulses. Between August 29 and October 29, 2019, 1,652 independent burst events were detected in a total of 59.5 hours. While the burst cadence varied during the series, corresponding to the highest event rate ever observed for any FRB.

Such a high cadence facilitates a statistical study of these FRB bursts. The researchers found a clear characteristic energy of E = 4.8 x 10 raised to 37 erg, below which the generation of the explosions became less efficient.

“The total energy of this set of bursts already adds up to 3.8% of what is available in a magnetar and no periodicity was found between 1 ms and 1000 s, which severely limits the possibility that the, Dr. Wang Pei, lead author of the work, said in a statement.

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