Beijing (ANTARA) – For the first time, astronomers succeeded in detecting a scintillation arc in the spectrum of a fast radio burst (FRB) using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope. /FAST) belongs to China, which is the largest and most sensitive single-dish radio telescope in the world.
FRBs are mysterious flashes of radio waves lasting only a few thousandths of a second which in 2016 were confirmed to originate from the universe. There is still no explanation regarding its origins.
An international group led by a team of researchers from the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences presented an analysis of the interstellar light from FRB 20220912A during its most active period in 2022.
According to a new study published in the Science China Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy journal, the curvature suggests that the light is likely caused by ionized interstellar medium, or the material that fills the space between stars.
The discovery provides a new approach to researching the medium of fast radio waves and its possible orbital motion.
The researchers also reported their method for detecting the curvature of the light, which is generally applicable to sources that have irregularly spaced bursts or pulses, according to the study.
James Cordes of Cornell University said that the method used in the study could help find the FRB’s host galaxy and the interstellar medium in the Milky Way.
Located in an area with a deep, naturally circular karst depression in southwest China’s Guizhou Province, FAST began official operations in January 2020. FAST is believed to be the most sensitive radio telescope in the world.
2024-01-03 08:43:44
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