Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME), introduces its second discovery of the second repeating fast radio burst(FRB). FRBs are short bursts of radio waves coming from far outside our Milky Way galaxy. In a resounding endorsement of the novel telescope’s capabilities, the repeating FRB was one of a total of 13 bursts detected over a period of just three weeks during the summer of 2018, while CHIME was in its pre-commissioning phase and running at only a fraction of its full capacity. Additional bursts from the repeating FRB were detected in following weeks by the telescope, which is located in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley.
“Until now, there was only one known repeating FRB. Knowing that there is another suggests that there could be more out there. And with more repeaters and more sources available for study, we may be able to understand these cosmic puzzles—where they’re from and what causes them,” said Ingrid Stairs, a member of the CHIME team.
Most of the FRBs previously detected had been found at frequencies near 1400 MHz, well above the Canadian telescope’s range of 400 MHz to 800 MHz. Majority of the 13 FRBs showed signs of “scattering” and it led to the conclusion that the sources of FRBs are powerful astrophysical objects more likely to be in locations with special characteristics.
“Whatever the source of these radio waves is, it’s interesting to see how wide a range of frequencies it can produce. There are some models where intrinsically the source can’t produce anything below a certain frequency,” says team member Arun Naidu of McGill University. ” We haven’t solved the problem, but it’s several more pieces in the puzzle,” says Tom Landecker, a CHIME team member. The researchers hope they may get a clue about the environment and the sources of mysterious bursts in which it occurs.
Post Your Comments