Two NASA X-ray telescopes have observed a mysterious burst of radio waves known as FRB just minutes before and after it happened, providing scientists with unprecedented insights into these extreme cosmic events. FRBs are brief bursts of radio waves that release as much energy as the Sun releases in a year, forming a laser-like beam that differentiates them from other cosmic explosions.
Until 2020, all FRBs traced to their origins outside of our galaxy. However, in October 2022, a rapid burst of radio waves was observed from Earth’s home galaxy, the Milky Way, caused by an extremely dense object called a magnetar. This event occurred with the magnetar SGR 1935+2154 and was studied in detail by NASA’s NICER and NuSTAR. The results of the study, published in Nature, demonstrate how NASA telescopes can work together to observe and track cosmic events.
Between two rapid bursts, the magnetar suddenly started spinning faster, then slowed to less than its pre-failure speed in just nine hours, surprising study authors. It normally takes weeks or months for a magnetar to return to its normal speed after such failures. Understanding how magnetares produce fast radio bursts takes into consideration many variables, including their extreme density and strong gravitational pull.
The authors of the study believe that the interior of a magnetar, which is in a superfluid state, can become out of sync with its solid exterior, leading to rapid bursts. They speculate that the rapid deceleration of the magnetar during the event could have been caused by a volcanic eruption, which could explain the loss of mass and resultant slow down. However, the team still requires more data to understand the full story behind fast radio bursts.
While the study has provided important insights into fast radio bursts, scientists believe there’s still a lot more data needed to solve this cosmic mystery. The findings offer a significant contribution to the growing understanding of these enigmatic phenomena.