Cosmic signals repeat on a 157-day cycle

Astronomers measured the FRB 121102 signal as the second radio wave to travel from deep space to Earth on a repetitive cycle.

Simulate FRB signal 121102. (Photo: CNN).

Using the Lovell telescope, an international team of researchers headed by astronomers at the Jodrell Bank Observatory near Goostrey, Cheshire, England, researches radio wave lightning (FRB), extremely bright radio pulses now in a very short time. Based on data from previously published observations, they detected the FRB 121102 signal repeating on a 157-day cycle. This finding provides important hints to help identify the source of radio wave . The existence of frequent repetitive waves may be related to the motion of a giant star , neutron star or black hole, according to Dr. Kaustubh Rajwade at the University of Manchester, who led the research.

Repeated FRBs can be explained by the axial motion (which can be interpreted as the swaying phenomenon) of a neutron star. But with the current data, scientists think it is difficult to explain the 157-day cycle of FRB 121102. The existence of FRB was discovered in 2007. Initially, researchers thought that they were the the event only happened once and was related to big fluctuations like exploding stars. However, the FRB signal 180916.J10158 + 56changed the speculation. Recorded by the CHIME telescope in Canada, FRB 180916.J10158 + 56 repeats at 16.35-day intervals. Similarly, FRB 121102 was discovered through the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico on November 2, 2012 and had a repeating cycle of 157 days. Rajwade and colleagues published their findings in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

"This interesting finding shows just how little we know about the origin of FRB. We need other observations with larger numbers of FRBs to have a clearer view of the weekly signal source. ", said Duncan Lorimer, assistant dean of the Department of Astrophysics at West Virginia University.