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Farthest fast radio burst traced to a tiny dwarf galaxy by Webb, hinting at a magnetar origin

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The farthest fast radio burst seen so far has been traced to a small, star-forming dwarf galaxy by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers report in the journal Science. The burst, FRB 20240304B, left its galaxy just 3 billion years after the big bang.

farthest fast radio burst: Webb's NIRCam view of the host galaxy, with the burst position marked by a white cross
Webb's NIRCam view of the host galaxy, with the burst position marked by a white cross Photo: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, T. Nanayakkara (USYD) (public domain via NASA, credit required).

How MeerKAT and Webb found the farthest fast radio burst

The MeerTRAP team spotted the millisecond flash with South Africa’s MeerKAT telescope on 4 March 2024. Radio data hinted it was extremely distant, but the world’s largest ground telescopes saw no galaxy at that spot. Webb’s NIRCam found one, and its NIRSpec measured a redshift of 2.148. ESA/Webb also published the result. Most bursts found so far happened billions of years later in cosmic history.

Key Facts

  • Burst detected: 4 March 2024 (MeerKAT)
  • Redshift: 2.148
  • Time after big bang: about 3 billion years
  • Host galaxy: about 1,000x less massive than expected

“What makes fast radio bursts interesting is that we don't know what generates them.”

— Manisha Caleb, University of Sydney

A galaxy 1,000 times smaller than expected

Most fast radio burst hosts are massive star-forming galaxies, but this one is about 1,000 times less massive than expected, NASA said. It existed at ‘cosmic noon’, when star formation in the universe peaked, and most of its stars may have formed within just 30 million years. Lead author Manisha Caleb of the University of Sydney said the team expected a big, well-formed galaxy and instead found a little dwarf.

Magnetar or merger? What the find suggests

One theory says bursts come from two neutron stars merging, which takes billions of years and should favour older galaxies. Another says they come from a young, highly magnetic neutron star, a magnetar, that forms soon after a supernova. A young host like this fits the magnetar idea. Caleb said it is very unlikely this burst came from a merger. Co-author Ben Stappers said pairing MeerKAT and Webb to study distant bursts is very exciting.

Why It Matters: Pinning down what makes these flashes helps astronomers use them as probes of the matter hidden between galaxies.

Also on TrendDesh: NGC 1275 black hole flared in X-rays, then fired radio jets about 300 days later · Perseverance driving record: NASA rover beats Opportunity with 28.10 miles on Mars

Source: NASA Science · ESA/Webb · arXiv preprint

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