Fast Radio Burst (FRB) is an electromagnetic wave, which is very important in modern world communication. The cell phone signal we use every day is electromagnetic wave, so when we receive the repeated electromagnetic wave signal from aliens, human beings will naturally be extremely excited. Fingertip technology said I'd open a brain hole because it might be an electromagnetic wave signal from an alien civilization. In other words, the repeated rapid radio burst received this time may be a mobile phone message sent by an alien civilization to human beings.
Let's calm down and understand what a fast radio burst is. Fast Radio Burst (FRB) refers to a short and violent burst of radio waves that suddenly appears in the distant universe. The duration is very short, usually only a few milliseconds, but it can release the energy equivalent to that released by the sun all day. Because the duration of fast radio bursts is extremely short, it is very difficult to observe, and only very sensitive radio telescopes can observe them. This observation was made by a new radio telescope (CHIME), which is installed in Canada and has high sensitivity.
Have you ever observed a fast radio burst before? In fact, so far, humans have observed more than 60 rapid radio bursts in various radio telescopes around the world, as early as 2007. Even in 20 12, repeated rapid radio bursts were observed for the first time.
What's special about this observation? The special feature of this observation is that a clear repeated rapid radio burst is observed, which is the second time that humans have observed repeated rapid radio bursts. So what is a repetitive rapid radio burst? According to the existing reports, repeated rapid radio bursts refer to rapid radio bursts with similar or identical sources, or the signals themselves have similar or identical fluctuations. It is reported that the 13 radio bursts observed in CHIME this time all originated from the same place, and several of them have high coincidence rate.
Since fast radio bursts are electromagnetic waves, can the electromagnetic wave information carried in repeated fast radio bursts decipher the content itself? This question is actually very important. Since some people suspect that it is an alien intelligence signal, if we can decipher the content, we can directly decipher the content of mobile phone messages sent by alien civilizations. However, existing reports point out that these signals have not yet been determined whether they are meaningful, and they have not been able to determine their possible significance. In other words, it may not make any sense at all. This is actually a greater tendency of scientists after analyzing the existing FRB phenomenon.
What are the scientists' analysis and assumptions about the existing FRB phenomenon?
The fast rotation hypothesis of (1) neutron star
After the death of a star, it may become a fast-rotating neutron star, which may produce a fast radio burst. Dr Ingrid Stairs, an astrophysicist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, supports this hypothesis. She thinks that something like a neutron star fits this condition very well. But at the same time, she also said: but it is still unknown what physical phenomenon produces such huge energy radio waves.
(2) Magnetic Star Hypothesis
Magnetic star itself is a fast rotating neutron star, which has the potential to generate electromagnetic waves. Therefore, it is the most possible hypothesis that magnetic stars produce fast radio bursts, which can explain the repeatability of fast radio bursts. Theoretically, the magnetar itself has super magnetism, and its rotation speed is extremely fast. When a magnetar emits a flare, it may be accompanied by FRB and spread at an extremely fast speed.
(3) Neutron stars collide with each other.
The collision of two neutron stars may produce a rapid radio burst. This theoretical hypothesis was put forward by Shriharsh Tendulkar, an astronomer at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and it is one of the main theories on the cause of FRB recognized by the scientific community at present. In the past ten years, most FRBs were observed after the stars disappeared. But this assumption only applies to FRB that happens once, because the star will be destroyed in the process. Shriharsh Tendulkar believes that this is a catastrophic one-off event, so it cannot explain the repeated FRB.
(4) black hole related phenomenon hypothesis
From the neutron star falling into the black hole, to the collapse of the black hole, and then to the collision of dark matter with the black hole, these processes may form a fast radio burst. Cherry Ng, another author of the Nature report and an astronomer at the University of Toronto, also speculated after preliminary analysis that FRB may have originated from a cluster of high-density substances in space, such as the remnants of supernovae, or located near the central black hole of galaxies.
(5) the hypothesis of alien civilization
Professor Avi Loeb, who has always had a big brain hole at Harvard University, once suggested that perhaps alien civilizations use super-strong pulse radiation to push the sails to travel in the cross star, and the extra radiation shines on the earth, which may become a fast radio burst that we have detected. Does it sound particularly familiar? Yes, this scene is exactly the same as Professor Loeb's "breakthrough star shooting" project, that is, the chairman of the advisory Committee. The plan is to push the stamp-sized interstellar probe to the speed of 1/5 with the help of sails, and fly to the nearest star in its lifetime to send back close-up images.
Query on the hypothesis of alien civilization: strictly speaking, the possibility of alien intelligent civilization is not ruled out. However, fingertip technology said that I am deeply convinced that if it is really an extraterrestrial civilization. The characteristics of this rapid radio burst are also puzzling. Fast radio bursts have extremely short time and extremely high energy, so it is extremely unlikely that humans will actually emit such electromagnetic waves with extremely short time and extremely high energy. In general, electromagnetic waves will not be used for communication in such a short time and high energy way. It is inconvenient to receive signals in a short time, but high-energy transmission requires a lot of resources. FRB is of little practical significance to communication. This kind of electromagnetic wave actually violates the law of the dark forest. Sending these signals in the universe may be recognized by other civilizations, which is not necessarily a good thing for an intelligent civilization itself.
What is the cause of the rapid radio burst? Still have to continue to observe. With more and more observations in the future, human understanding of this phenomenon will definitely increase a lot. It is worth noting that the 500-meter spherical radio telescope (FAST) was officially put into use in 20 19, which is likely to provide more research opportunities for the observation and research of fast radio bursts, which is worth waiting to see. Fingertip Technology said that an official alien website in China will be informed later. Welcome to pay attention to fingertip technology, explore with us and feel the weight of science and consciousness together.