An international research consortium spearheaded by Chinese astronomers has achieved a groundbreaking discovery in astrophysics, utilizing China’s monumental Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) to decipher the origins of cosmic fast radio bursts (FRBs). The team from the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has gathered compelling evidence indicating these mysterious celestial phenomena originate from binary star systems, according to research published in the prestigious journal Science.
Located in Guizhou Province’s rugged karst landscape, FAST—the world’s largest single-dish radio telescope—has provided unprecedented observational data enabling scientists to analyze FRB patterns with remarkable precision. These millisecond-duration cosmic flashes, which have baffled astronomers since their discovery in 2007, release more energy than our sun emits in three days.
The research demonstrates that at least a subset of FRBs emanate from interacting binary systems where a neutron star orbits another celestial body. This configuration creates the extreme conditions necessary to generate these powerful electromagnetic emissions that travel billions of light-years across the universe.
This discovery marks a significant advancement in high-energy astrophysics and showcases China’s growing capabilities in cutting-edge space research. The findings provide crucial insights into the extreme environments that produce FRBs, potentially revolutionizing our understanding of stellar evolution and cosmic phenomena. The international collaboration, leveraging FAST’s superior sensitivity, opens new pathways for decoding one of astronomy’s most persistent mysteries.