By Tim Binnall
Astronomers scanning the skies for fast radio bursts (FRBs) have detected a particularly peculiar signal which they likened to a heartbeat emanating from somewhere out in space. According to a press release, the curious discovery was made by a team of scientists from MIT who were studying data from the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment or CHIME, which is a proverbial FRB hunter that has found a slew of the strange signals since going into operation in 2018. While poring over data from the telescope, lead researcher Daniele Michilli spotted a curious signal that was unlike anything previously detected.
"It was unusual," he said, "not only was it very long, lasting about three seconds, but there were periodic peaks that were remarkably precise, emitting every fraction of a second — boom, boom, boom — like a heartbeat. This is the first time the signal itself is periodic." Making the find all the more intriguing is that the three-second-long signal is a staggering 1,000 times longer than most FRBs, which are usually incredibly short and, therefore, difficult to investigate. In detailing the discovery, the researchers noted that it currently stands as "the longest-lasting FRB, with the clearest periodic pattern, detected to date."
While the source of FRBs remains a mystery to scientists, research into the enigmatic signals has led to the theory that they could be coming from different types of types of neutron stars, which are "extremely dense, rapidly spinning collapsed cores of giant stars," specifically radio pulsars or magnetars. To that end, Michilli indicated that "we think this new signal could be a magnetar or pulsar on steroids.” The team intends to continue their observations of the area from which the FRB emanated in the hopes of catching it again in the hopes of developing a better understanding of its properties and what may be creating it.