Astronomers have detected an unusual pattern in a repeating fast radio burst called FRB 20220912A, providing new clues and posing new mysteries about these enigmatic celestial events.
The fast radio burst was observed using the California-based SETI Institute’s Allen Telescope Array at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory in the Cascade Mountains. Over a two-month period, the team detected 35 fast radio bursts from the same source, shedding light on the repetitive nature of these events.
One of the most striking findings was a noticeable drop in the center frequency of the bursts, resembling a celestial slide whistle. When the signals were converted into sounds using a xylophone, the researchers found that high notes corresponded to the beginning of the bursts, with low notes acting as the concluding tones.
Lead study author Dr. Sofia Sheikh, a National Science Foundation MPS-Ascend postdoctoral fellow at the SETI Institute, expressed excitement about the discovery, stating, “This work is exciting because it provides both confirmation of known FRB properties and the discovery of some new ones.”
However, the researchers were unable to identify a pattern within the timings between each burst, suggesting that the celestial events can be unpredictable as well.
The study, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, marks the first observation of fast radio bursts using the Allen Telescope Array, which has undergone refurbishment in recent years. The ongoing upgrades for the array will not only allow astronomers to track how fast radio bursts behave at different frequencies but also search for fainter signals.
While astronomers have narrowed down the potential sources of fast radio bursts to extreme objects such as magnetars, there is still no existing model that can explain all of the observed properties so far. “We’re narrowing down the source of FRBs to extreme objects such as magnetars, but no existing model can explain all of the properties that have been observed so far,” Sheikh said.
The findings provide valuable insights into the nature of fast radio bursts and the capabilities of new telescopes like the Allen Telescope Array in unraveling the mysteries of these cosmic phenomena. Each observation of fast radio bursts brings new insights as well as more questions, further fueling the ongoing search for the origin of these enigmatic signals.