Scientists using the ALMA observatory have for the first time recorded light from a fiery explosion. One of the most Luminous afterglows on record was left behind by this flash of light. The results of the research will be published in a journal.
GRBs are the most energetic explosions in the universe and can emit more energy in a matter of seconds than our sun will. GRB 211106A is a sub-class of the GRB. The creation of the heaviest elements in the universe, such as Platinum and gold, are believed to be the result of these explosions. According to Tanmoy Laskar, who will soon commence work as an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Utah, the stars spiral in towards each other due to the removal of energy from the elliptical stars. The jets move at close to the speed of light. We can see a short pulse of radiation when one of these jets is pointing at Earth.
A few tenths of a second is the average duration of a short-duration GRB. Afterglow is an emission of light caused by the jets interacting with gas. Only half a dozen short-duration GRBs have been detected at radio wavelength, and until now none had been detected in millimeter wavelength. The technological capabilities of telescopes and the immense distance to GRBs make it difficult to conduct research in this area. The GRB afterglows are very bright. Our telescopes on Earth can't see the light from distant galaxies because they are so far away. millimeter telescopes were not sensitive enough to see afterglows.
GRB 21106A is 20 billion light-years away from Earth. While early X-ray observations with NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory saw the explosion, the host galaxy was invisible at that wavelength, and scientists couldn't determine where the explosion was coming from. For learning more about the burst itself, afterglow light is essential. Initially, when only the X-ray counterpart had been discovered, astronomer thought that the burst was coming from a nearby galaxy because of the amount of dust in the area.
The millimeter wavelength added a new aspect to scientists' understanding of the GRB. The Hubble observations showed an unchanging field of stars. ALMA's unparalleled sensitivity allowed us to locate the GRB in a field that was further away, and it turned out to be in another faint galaxy. That means that the burst is even more powerful than we thought, making it one of the most powerful on record.
The first time we tried to observe such an event was with ALMA. It was amazing to see this event shine so bright. After many years of observing these bursts, this surprising discovery opens up a new area of study as it motivates us to observe many more of these with ALMA and other telescope array.
The observations are fantastic according to Joe Pesce, the National Science Foundation Program Officer. They show how important multi-wavelength observations with space- and ground-based telescopes are in understanding astrophysical phenomena.
There's still a lot of work to be done, both with new GRBs and with GRB 21106A, which could uncover additional surprises. Edo Berger, professor of astronomy at Harvard University, said that the study of short-duration GRBs requires rapid coordination of telescopes around the world and in space.
ALMA, the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large array, and the Hubble Space Telescope are some of the most powerful telescopes available. We will be able to produce a complete picture of these cataclysmic events with future telescopes such as the next generation VLA.
We can now take a spectrum of the host galaxy and easily know the distance with the help of JWST, and in the future we could use it to study afterglows. We will be able to study the geometric structure of the afterglows with ngVLA. Upcoming discoveries are exciting for me.
More information: Tanmoy Laskar et al, The First Short GRB Millimeter Afterglow: The Wide-Angled Jet of the Extremely Energetic SGRB 211106A. arXiv:2205.03419v2 [astro-ph.HE], arxiv.org/abs/2205.03419 Journal information: Astrophysical Journal Letters Citation: Explosive neutron star merger captured for the first time in millimeter light (2022, August 3) retrieved 7 August 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-08-explosive-neutron-star-merger-captured.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
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