Astronomers discover powerful fast radio bursts impaling nearby galaxies and help find dark matter

Many astronomers think they are emitted by neutron stars. The density and magnetic field strength of these very compact stars are unique in the universe. Now they have become a tool that measures the concentration of dark atoms in the galaxies it passes through

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are among the brightest explosions in the universe. The bursts mainly emit radio waves. The flashes are so strong that radio telescopes can detect them even from a distance of more than four billion (!) light years. This prolonged visibility over such great distances means that the bursts contain enormous amounts of energy. When it erupts, a single FRB contains ten trillion times (ten million times a million) the annual energy consumption of the entire world's population.

Because of this tremendous energy production FRBs are very interesting. Many astronomers think they are emitted by neutron stars. The density and magnetic field strength of these very compact stars are unique in the universe. By investigating the flashes, astronomers want to better understand the fundamental properties of the matter that makes up the universe. But these flashes are difficult to investigate. No one knows where in the sky the next burst will erupt. And an FRB only lasts a millisecond: if you blink, you miss it.

Equipped with new receivers and a new supercomputer (ARTS), the Westerbork telescope has now discovered five new FRBs. He also immediately located them, says lead researcher Yuri van Leeuwen (ASTRON): "We now have a device with a very wide field of view and very sharp vision. And all this in real time. It's new and exciting."

In the past, radio telescopes like Westerbork detected FRBs as if using the compound eyes of a fly. Flies can see in all directions, but blurry. Westerbork's upgrade is like a cross between the eyes of a fly and the eyes of an eagle. The ARTS supercomputer continuously combines images from 12 Westerbork antennas to create a sharp image over a large field of view. "You can't just buy the complex electronics you need for this," says system engineer Erik Koestra (ASTRON). "We designed most of the system ourselves, with a large team. The result is an innovative device, one of the most powerful in the world."

Astronomers want to understand how and why FRBs become so bright. But the flashes are also interesting because on their way to Earth they penetrate other galaxies. The electrons in these galaxies, which are usually mostly invisible, distort the flashes. It is important to locate invisible electrons, and their accompanying atoms, because most of the matter in the universe is dark and our knowledge of it is still scanty. In the past radio telescopes could only indicate generally where an FRB occurred. The ARTS supercomputer now allows Westerbork to pinpoint the location of an FRB with great precision. Van Leeuwen: "We showed that three of the FRBs we discovered penetrated our neighbor, the Triangulum Galaxy! We were therefore able for the first time to count how many invisible electrons at most this galaxy contains. A fantastic result."

More of the topic in Hayadan:

• Astronomers discover a powerful short burst of radio radiation from a place relatively close to the Milky Way
• Researchers have managed to locate the origin of a radio flash from a distant galaxy
• For the first time, a plasma jet from a black hole at the center of a radio galaxy has been imaged
• The discovery of fast radio bursts reveals the missing matter in the universe