Fast Radio Burst (FRB)

June 13, 2022

Astronomers have detected a signal from a galaxy, which is around 3 billion light-years away. This signal is called “Fast Radio Burst (FRB)”.

Key Points

Mysterious Fast Radio Burst have been detected for the second time ever.
The Burst is said to be “co-located with a compact and persistent radio source.
It is connected with the dwarf host galaxy of high specific star-formation.
It is also related to and is accompanied by a persistent source, that results the location to emit in radio frequency continuously.

What are Fast Radio Bursts?

Fast Radio Bursts are brief and intense flashes of radio frequency emissions. Such flashes typically last for milliseconds. These usually repeat multiple times. This phenomenon was first detected in 2007. These bursts are generated by a magnetar, which is a neutron star having a very strong magnetic field emitting radio wave. Radio Bursts are high-energy phenomena. They emit electromagnetic energy in the form of bursts of radio pulses. In each pulse, magnetar can emit energy equal to the what sun emits in a month.

What is the name of this signal?

By standard convention, the signal is named as FRB 190520B. This signal was first detected on May 20, 2019. Four bursts were detected within 24 seconds. In 2020, 75 bursts were detected in 19 hours.

How are Fast Radio Bursts triggered?

The Fast Radio Bursts are triggered by explosive events like a supernova or collision of two compact objects such as neutron star and black hole. Such bursts usually occur as a transient flash once and never seen again.

What is Magnetar?

Magnetar is a type of neutron star, which are having extremely powerful magnetic field. Magnetic-field decay powers the emission of high-energy electromagnetic radiation, specifically X-rays and gamma rays. Theory on these objects was proposed by Robert Duncan and Christopher Thompson in 1992.

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