Astronomers have doubled the known number of fast repetitive bursts of powerful radiation originating from distant galaxies outside the Milky Way. These explosions, known as fast radio bursts (FRB), powerful enough to outshine everything galaxy, where they appeared. But despite this incredible power, the origin of FRBs is mysterious.

In a new study, a team of astronomers from the Canadian Hydrogen Density Mapping Experiment (BELL)/FRB Collaboration and the University of Toronto said they have found 25 new repeating FRBs, bringing the total number to 50.

In the past decade, astronomers have discovered many FRBs, but the vast majority of them are not repeated and have only been observed once. Only a small fraction of relapses were observed. This caused astronomers to doubt it. repeated FRBs and unique FRBs come from the same sources.

The fact that these two FRB populations appear to have different characteristics, including their lifetimes and the frequency range in which they are observed, also points to their different origins. The key to confirming this is the discovery of more repetitive FRBs. The team involved in this study did just that by developing a new statistical toolset to analyze every recurring FRB ever seen, including those that were not immediately obvious.

“We can now accurately calculate the probability that two or more flares from similar locations are not a coincidence,” the statement said. research group member Ziggy Pleunis, PhD student at the University of Toronto Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics (opens in a new tab). “These new tools were essential for this study and will be very useful for similar studies in the future.”

Radio telescopes such as CHIME, located at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory near Penticton, Canada, have been integral to detecting FRBs. Over the last few years, observations have grown from tens to thousands, largely thanks to CHIME’s ability to scan the entire northern sky each day.

“Therefore, CHIME has an advantage over other telescopes when it comes to detecting FRBs,” Pleunis said.

One of the surprising aspects of this new study is the discovery that many repetitive FRBs are surprisingly inactive, producing less than one burst per week during the observation period of CHIME. Pleunis thinks this may be because these FRBSs have not yet been observed long enough for a second eruption to be observed.

Repeated FRBs are extremely useful to astronomers because they allow the same FRB source to be observed with different telescopes than the telescopes in which they were originally observed, allowing for a closer look at these mysterious phenomena.

Research team member Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. “It’s exciting for CHIME/FRB to see multiple flares from the same locations because it allows us to study their nature in detail,” said Adaiz Ibiq. The student says the same message. “We were able to focus on some of these recurring sources and identify possible related galaxies for the two.”

The team’s findings may have implications beyond helping narrow the search. Origin of FRBs.

“FRBs are likely produced by remnants. explosive deaths of stars. “By examining the repeated sources of FRBs in detail, we can study the environments in which these bursts occur and better understand the final stages of a star’s life,” Pleunis said. We can learn.”