The strange signals that repeat from deep space have just tripled

Scientists suddenly have much more data on one of the strangest and most recent mysteries of the cosmos, the so-called fast radio bursts (FRB). Discovered for the first time in 2007, these transient radio wave explosions generate thousands, millions, even billions of light years from Earth.

The FRB has influenced the design of new radio telescopes as the Canadian experience of hydrogen intensity mapping (CHIME). And now, a team of Canadian and US researchers using CHIME has reported a significant new set of FRB detections that could refine our understanding of where these enigmatic signals come from and what produces them.

The group claims to have discovered eight new FRBs that are repeated.

"Repeating FRBs is very valuable from the point of view of observations because their repetitive nature makes them better candidates for location of host galaxies and tracking observations over several wavelengths that can help determine if FRBs are emitting at wavelengths other than radio, "said Ryan McKinven. researchers based at the University of Toronto and co-authored an article on FRB.

These follow-up observations could provide details on the origins of these strange flakes, he added. A larger sample of repetitive FRBs to study could also help scientists answer one of the obvious questions about non-repetitive FRBs: Could they actually repeat FRBs that simply have not been recorded as repetitions again?

Although dozens of FRBs have been detected and cataloged in the past 12 years, few of these far – space signals have been repeated. Two have already been documented in peer-reviewed journals. Two others – a via a Russian radio telescope, the other via Australia – have been reported but not yet reviewed.

So with this batch of bursts, the number of repeaters reported has tripled – from four to twelve.

The team outlined its findings in a draft document that was submitted to the Astrophysical Journal and was published this month on the Arxiv pre-print site.

"By discovering different types of FRB at an unexpected pace, we will soon open new perspectives to understand the cosmological origin of these high-energy astrophysical phenomena, "said co-author Masoud Rafiei-Ravandi of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics .

In addition to the impressive number of repetitive FRBs discovered in a single stroke, one of the recently discovered repeaters seems to be much closer to Earth than the handful of fast radio bursts dating back to a source galaxy. Until now, traceable FRBs seem to come from sources on the other side of the universe – we are talking billions of light years away.

However, in the new article, the authors suggest that one of the repetitive FRBs might actually come from the edge of our own galaxy, the Milky Way, but it should be remembered that further study is needed to better locate the signal.

"Knowing that we observe every corner of the sky visible by CHIME once a day, we have just detected a very close source," said co-author Pragya Chawla of McGill University.

By studying the relatively close FRB, it is hoped that scientists will have a better idea of ​​what the devil emits from these signals, that could be something far-fetched ideas like alien spaceships less fantastic but literally more powerful sources, such as neutron stars.