UNITED STATES: A recent study published in the journal Nature Astronomy suggests a possible correlation between two of the most enigmatic phenomena in astronomy: fast radio bursts (FRBs) and gravitational waves from neutron star mergers.
FRBs are brief and intense bursts of electromagnetic radiation that occur in deep space and are still not fully understood. Gravitational waves, on the other hand, are ripples in spacetime. Einstein’s theory of general relativity was the first to predict them, but instruments like the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and the Virgo detector didn’t find them until recently.
The research team, comprising scientists from the University of Western Australia (UWA), Curtin University, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), reports on the observation of an FRB event that occurred just 2 ½ hours after a deep space neutron star merger, which could provide valuable insights into how FRBs are generated.
The team found the possible link between the two events by searching blindly for GW-FRB connections. They found a pair of events that happened in the same area of space, which suggests that they may be linked.
According to the lead author of the study, Alexandra Moroianu, a graduate student at UWA, the possible association between the two events is “extremely exciting” and could help “unravel some of the mystery surrounding these fast radio bursts, such as why repeating and non-repeating bursts exhibit different properties.” But co-author Bing Zhang, who is an astrophysicist at UNLV, says that more observations are needed to make the connection stronger.
Despite the potential significance of the findings, Zhang emphasizes that the statistical chance probability of the association between the two events is not strong enough to confirm the link.
He suggests that more data will be accumulated in the future, especially with another observing run of gravitational wave detectors just around the corner, to test whether such associations are physical and common.
If the correlation is confirmed, it could provide new insights into the properties of neutron stars, which are some of the densest objects in the universe, and how they interact with each other. The authors of the study suggest a possible scenario in which the merger of two neutron stars creates a massive neutron star that spins quickly and eventually collapses into a black hole, sending out its magnetosphere and making the FRB.
In short, this study shows that there might be a connection between two of astronomy’s most mysterious things. This could help us learn more about where fast radio bursts come from and how neutron stars work. But more observations are needed to confirm the link and figure out what’s going on in deep space.
Also Read: Kilonova: Astronomers Identifies the Merger of 2 Neutron Stars
