An article published in the journal “Nature” reports the identification of the origin of the fast radio burst cataloged as FRB 20221022A linking it to a magnetar-class neutron star, probably emerging from its magnetosphere. A team of researchers coordinated by MIT used observations conducted with the CHIME radio telescope to identify the origin of this already-known fast radio burst by exploiting the phenomenon of scintillation, comparable to how stars twinkle in the sky. This is further evidence of the link between magnetars and fast radio bursts, the very powerful emissions that can be one-time or repeated events.

Over the years, various teams of researchers have studied fast radio bursts and gradually began to find clues of their connection with magnetars, a type of neutron star with an incredibly powerful magnetic field. These are levels of power that can even tear apart atoms, and in this new study, the researchers discovered a remarkable effect: the energy stored in that magnetic field, close to the source, is twisting and reconfiguring in a way that allows it to be released in the form of radio waves that we can see from incredibly long distances.

The scintillation of the fast radio burst FRB 20221022A was analyzed with the CHIME (Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment) radio telescope. This instrument composed of semi-cylinders instead of classic antennas has detected thousands of events of this type and has already allowed to collect evidence of their connection with magnetars that suggests that one of the models that sees their origin in their magnetosphere is correct.

The researchers exploited the fact that the smaller or more distant an object is, the more it twinkles, believing that the estimate of a fast radio burst’s scintillation magnitude would allow them to calculate the source region’s relative size.

One advantage of the non-repeating two-millisecond signal from FRB 20221022A is its high-polarization with a polarization angle that traced a smooth S-shaped curve. This was interpreted as evidence that the emission site was rotating, a feature previously observed in pulsars, another class of neutron stars.

Another aid came from the fact that gas between the source of FRB 20221022A and the CHIME radio telescope acts as a natural lens. The consequent magnification increased the chances of pinpointing the region where the event originated.

The analysis determined that FRB 20221022A must have originated in the immediate vicinity of its source in astronomical terms, that is, no more than 10,000 kilometers from it. Some models predicted that the origin was much further away because various mechanisms for generating fast radio bursts were proposed. The result of this analysis suggests that one of the models that predicts that these events originate in the turbulent magnetosphere of a magnetar must be the most correct one.

This result provides new evidence for the link between fast radio bursts and magnetars and offers a way to pinpoint the origin of other fast radio bursts, at least the ones with similar characteristics. The CHIME radio telescope continues to detect them, so the data available has become very abundant. There are differences in the polarized signals of different bursts, and this new possibility to analyze them will stimulate theoretical efforts to reconcile those differences.

Radio telescopes like CHIME are bringing remarkable advances in the study of phenomena such as fast radio bursts even when they were designed primarily for other types of astronomical studies. Neutron stars are extreme environments, so it makes sense that they generate very powerful emissions. Studying them enables the test of physics and astrophysics models, contributing to advances in understanding the secrets of the cosmos.