China's Sky Eye is amazing! The "identity card" of repeated fast radio bursts has been found

◎ Science and Technology Daily reporter Lu Chengkuan

Just as we can tell that it has just rained in a certain place by the appearance of a rainbow, astronomers can determine the evolutionary stage of a fast radio burst by the complexity of the environment surrounding it.

"Based on data from the China Sky Eye (FAST) and other sources, we have proposed for the first time a method to describe the complexity of the environment around fast radio bursts, namely 'RM dispersion'. This method can explain the evolution of polarization frequency of repeated fast radio bursts, trace the identity information of fast radio bursts, and provide key observational evidence for the final determination of the origin of fast radio bursts." Li Qi, chief scientist of the China Sky Eye and researcher at the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said in an interview with Science and Technology Daily on March 20. The relevant research results were recently published in the top academic journal Science.

(Image provided by National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Fast radio bursts are a phenomenon of violent radio wave explosions in the vast universe. They last for a very short time, usually only a few milliseconds.

Don't underestimate this few milliseconds of flash. Although it exists for a very short time, its energy is extremely high. In these few milliseconds, it can release trillions of years of electricity generated on Earth in the form of radio waves.

In fact, the origin and generation mechanism of fast radio bursts is one of the biggest mysteries in astronomy today, and scientists have been arguing about it.

"The study of mysterious phenomena such as fast radio bursts may have a revolutionary impact on physics and astronomy. Of course, we are currently moving forward step by step," said Li Qi.

The polarization properties of fast radio bursts contain rich information such as the characteristics of the fast radio bursts themselves and the environment in which they are formed. Accurate measurement of the polarization properties of fast radio bursts will advance our understanding of the environment surrounding fast radio bursts and their origins.

Li Di explained that the more complex the changes in the environment around a fast radio burst, the younger the fast radio burst and the more active it is. The complexity of the environment around a fast radio burst contains the "identity information" of the fast radio burst, such as age and place of origin.

About 95% of the fast radio bursts observed so far are like "dragons that appear once but never reach their tails". However, astronomers have discovered in their observations that some fast radio bursts can recur.

Relying on the high sensitivity of China's Sky Eye and the world's advanced radio telescopes such as the Green Bank Telescope in the United States, the CHIME Telescope in Canada, and the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pilot Array (ASKAP), we measured five repeating fast radio burst samples. "The results show that these repeating fast radio bursts are all in a complex environment similar to supernova remnants, providing key observational evidence for the final determination of the origin of fast radio bursts," said Li Qi.

"This research result will promote the construction of a more complete and more realistic fast radio burst origin model, which is the most important scientific significance." Li Di said. At the same time, it will encourage astronomers to pay more attention to the measurement of fast radio burst polarization, so as to comprehensively consider the observational properties of fast radio bursts in different bands, which may lead to new discoveries or new insights.

"Continued in-depth monitoring by China's Sky Eye and other advanced equipment is expected to answer a series of key questions about the origin of fast radio bursts in the next 2-3 years, such as whether repeating bursts and non-repeating bursts have a unified origin," said Li Di.

(Source: “Science and Technology Daily” WeChat official account)

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Produced by: Beijing Science and Technology News | Beijing Science and Technology Media

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