Fast radio burst

Subject: Science and Technology

Section: Space

Context:

In a paper published in Nature, astronomers have reported a fast radio burst (FRB) whose characteristics are different from almost all other FRBs previously detected, except one.

Fast radio burst

FRBs are bright flashes of light that appear for a few milliseconds and then vanish.
Since the first FRB was discovered in 2007, 140 more were discovered until June 2021, according to a post on the MIT website. “Their origins are unknown, and their appearance is unpredictable,” MIT said.

New Study on Fast radio burst

The new study in Nature describes FRB 20190520B, first discovered in 2019.
What makes it different is that unlike many other FRBs, it emits frequent, repeating bursts of radio waves.
Between bursts, it constantly emits weaker radio waves. “Here we report the detection and localization of the repeating FRB 190520B, which is co-located with a compact, persistent radio source and associated with a dwarf host galaxy of high specific-star-formation…,” the paper said.
Only one FRB has been previously observed to behave this way. Called FRB 121102, it was discovered in 2012.

Significance of new findings:

Calling the behaviour strange, the US National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) said that the discovery raises new questions about the nature of these mysterious objects and also about their usefulness as tools for studying the nature of intergalactic space.
The astronomers have suggested that there may be two different mechanisms producing FRBs, or that the objects producing them may act differently at different stages.
Among the candidates for the sources of FRBs are the super dense neutron stars left over after a supernova, or magnetars (neutron stars with ultra-strong magnetic fields).