Researchers used two of the agency's X-ray telescopes to zoom in on a dead star as it released a bright burst of radio waves. Two NASA X-ray telescopes recently observed a fast radio burst just minutes before and after it occurred. Extreme radio events can release as much energy as the Sun does in a year, because they only last for a fraction of a second. Before 2020, those that were traced to their source were too far away to be seen. A fast radio burst came from the collapsed remains of an exploded star.
The same magnetar produced another fast radio burst in October of 2022 and was studied in detail by NASA. The telescopes were able to see what happened on the surface of the source object and in its immediate surroundings before and after the fast radio burst. The results are an example of how NASA telescopes can work together to observe and follow up on short-lived events in the universe. The burst occurred between two minarets, when the magnetar suddenly started spinning faster. It would take a lot of energy to slow it down or speed it up. The study authors were surprised to see that the magnetar slowed down to 888-282-0465 888-282-0465 888-282-0465 888-282-0465 888-282-0465 888-282-0465 888-282-0465 888-282-0465 888-282-0465 in nine hours, which is 888-282-0465 888-282-0465 888-282-0465 888-282-0465 888-282-0465 888-282-0465 in magnetar. It takes weeks or months for the magnetar to get back to its normal speed after a glitch, according to Chin-Ping Hu, the lead author of the new study. Things are happening with objects on shorter time scales than we thought, and that may be related to how fast radio bursts are generated.
The physics of magnets.
Scientists have a lot of variables to consider when trying to piece together how magnetars produce fast radio bursts. A high density magnetar has a strong gravity and is frequently releasing X-rays and higher-energy light. The peripheral vision of high-energy space telescopes saw the release of X-rays and gamma rays from the magnetar before the radio burst. Mission operators pointed out the increased activity to the magnetar. The study co-author, a research scientist at the University of Maryland, College Park, said that the X-ray bursts that happened before the glitch would have had enough energy to create a fast radio burst. It seems like the right set of conditions were created during the slowdown period.
The high density of the magnetar's interior might have caused it to produce a fast radio burst. The paper authors think that the two could get out of sync at times, like when the radio burst. The researchers think that if the initial glitch caused a crack in the magnetar's surface, then material from the star's interior could have released into space like a volcanic eruption. Implications for future research
The team can not say for certain which of these factors will lead to the production of a fast radio burst. George Younes, a researcher at Goddard and a member of the NICER science team specializing in magnetars, said that they had observed something important for our understanding of fast radio bursts.
Chin-Ping Hu, Takuto Narita, Teruaki Enoto, George Younes, Zorawar Wadiasingh, Matthew G. Baring, Wynn C. G. Ho, Sebastian Guillot, Paul There is a DOI of 10.1038/s41586.
There is more about the mission.
The Small Explorer mission was led by Caltech and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The mission operations center is at the University of California, Berkeley, and the official data archive is at NASA. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.