Daily Image
25-02-2022
A repeating fast radio burst source in a globular cluster
| Submitter: | Franz Kirsten, Benito Marcote, Kenzie Nimmo, Jason Hessels et al. |
| Description: | Fast radio bursts (FRBs) remain an astrophysical enigma. What is producing these incredibly luminous and ephemeral radio flashes that we see originating from other galaxies? Ultra-precise localisation is one of the main strategies we are employing to get to the bottom of this mystery. By localising FRBs to their host galaxies, we can determine their distance (via redshift). If we can localise FRBs to specific galactic neighbourhoods, then we can also see where they like to hang out. With our PRECISE project we are localising FRBs to milli-arcsecond precision using an ad hoc array of dishes that also participate in the European VLBI Network (EVN). Most recently, we have targeted an FRB called FRB 20200120E, which was discovered by the CHIME/FRB telescope to be in the direction of the grand design spiral galaxy M81. Our milli-arcsecond localisation of the source via PRECISE+EVN led to a shocking discovery: FRB 20200120E is associated with a globular cluster! Globular clusters are dense stellar systems with old stars. What is an energetic FRB source doing there? One possible hypothesis is that FRB 20200120E is a relatively young magnetar (a hyper-magnetised neutron star) that was formed in an exotic way: instead of being born from the collapse of a massive star (a standard `core collapse' supernova), maybe the putative magnetar was created in a binary system where a white dwarf collects enough mass from its companion star that it collapses under its own gravity. Such a formation channel for magnetars has been theorised, but never directly observed. If you'd like to read more about the results, then also check out these articles in Sky & Telescope (English) and the NRC (Dutch). |
| Copyright: | Daniëlle Futselaar / ASTRON |
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