(NLDO) - Scientists have just found an explanation for the mysterious cosmic signals that Earth's observatories regularly pick up from distant galaxies.
Fast radio bursts (FRBs), a type of extremely short, powerful, and extremely fast burst of radio signals that travel from very distant worlds — often from other galaxies — to Earth, have long puzzled scientists.
There are many "suspects" mentioned in previous studies: Aliens, black holes, neutron stars, cosmic collision patterns...
A research team led by Dr. Dang Pham from the University of Toronto (Canada) has found new clues.
Illustration of a type of explosive signal called a "radio burst" transmitted to Earth - Photo: CHINA ASTRONOMY
Astronomers have detected FRBs from all over the sky. It is estimated that 10,000 FRBs may occur at random points in the Earth's sky every day.
Therefore, rare events such as colliding black holes or colliding neutron stars are unlikely to fully explain the origin of FRBs.
New research suggests that this strange signal could be coming from a more routine event: Neutron stars being hit by asteroids or comets, releasing powerful radio pulses that echo across the universe like a terrifying scream.
A neutron star is a dead world. It is the remnant of a giant star that has reached the end of its life cycle and collapsed into a small, energy-rich sphere.
"Neutron stars are extreme places, with masses many times greater than the Sun compressed into a sphere about 20 km in diameter, giving them some of the strongest gravitational and magnetic fields in the universe," explained co-author Matthew Hopkins from the University of Oxford (UK).
Therefore, just a small impact is enough to cause an explosion, releasing an extremely strong, extremely bright radio signal under the "eyes" of radio observatories.
It is estimated that if just one small asteroid collides with a neutron star, the energy released will be enough for humanity to use for 100 million years.
So the radio pulses from the collision could easily travel millions of light years to reach Earth.
The authors' model also shows that interstellar objects (ISOs), a poorly studied class of asteroids and comets, are present between stars in galaxies across the universe.
They are present in sufficient numbers to continuously attack neutron stars, explaining the large number of FRBs that humanity has captured.
The study also shows the expected properties that this type of collision possesses, consistent with existing FRB data, including their duration, energy, and the rate at which they occur over the lifetime of the universe.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/trai-dat-bat-duoc-tieng-thet-tu-the-gioi-da-chet-19624121110023151.htm
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