Unprecedented Astronomical Phenomenon Unveils Secrets of Stellar Corpse, US

Astronomers have made an unprecedented discovery in their quest to understand the mysteries of the universe. A team led by Cornell University has reported finding an active stellar corpse that shows signs of life, which is believed to be the source of multiple energetic flares. The findings were published in the journal Nature, marking a groundbreaking moment in the field of astronomy.

The team of astronomers observed bright and brief flashes of light, lasting only a few minutes but with an intensity comparable to the original explosion that occurred 100 days later. These flashes, known as luminous fast blue optical transients (LFBOT), had never been seen before and have raised questions about the nature of the phenomena that drive such extreme explosions.

Since their initial discovery in 2018, scientists have been speculating about the cause of these explosive events, which are much brighter than conventional stellar endings but fade in a remarkably short period of time. The research team, however, believes that the recent discovery of flare activity confirms that the source must be a stellar corpse, possibly a black hole or neutron star.

Anna Y. Q. Ho, the assistant professor of astronomy at Cornell University and the first author of the study, stated, We don’t think anything else can make these kinds of flares. This settles years of debate about what powers this type of explosion and reveals an unusually direct method of studying the activity of stellar corpses.

The discovery was made possible through the use of advanced technology and collaboration between multiple telescopes around the world. The team analyzed data from 15 telescopes, further confirming the existence of the unusual light pulses over a period of several months.

The abrupt rebrightening of the stellar corpse puzzled the researchers. While they initially expected the source to fade steadily, it unexpectedly brightened multiple times. This unexpected behavior has given astronomers new insight into the mechanisms behind LFBOTs. Some possibilities include a black hole releasing jets of stellar material at near-light speeds or the merging of a star with a black hole.

The implications of this discovery are profound. It allows scientists to study the properties of newly formed stellar corpses in unprecedented ways, shedding light on the life cycle of stars from their inception to their explosive demise. By observing these rare events, astronomers hope to gain a deeper understanding of how a star’s properties during its lifetime can predict its ultimate fate and the type of corpse it leaves behind.

Astronomy enthusiasts and the general public alike are captivated by this groundbreaking discovery. It not only expands our knowledge of the universe but also provides an opportunity to witness the transition of a star to its afterlife in real-time.

As more research is conducted and data is analyzed, scientists hope to unravel the mysteries surrounding LFBOTs and gain further insight into the cosmic cataclysms that shape our universe. The findings of this study mark a significant milestone in our understanding of the life and death of stars, leaving astronomers eager to uncover what other secrets the universe may hold.

Reference: Minutes-duration optical flares with supernova luminosities by Anna Y. Q. Ho, Daniel A. Perley, Ping Chen, Steve Schulze, Vik Dhillon, Harsh Kumar, Aswin Suresh, Vishwajeet Swain, Michael Bremer, Stephen J. Smartt, Joseph P. Anderson, G. C. Anupama, Supachai Awiphan, Sudhanshu Barway, Eric C. Bellm, Sagi Ben-Ami, Varun Bhalerao, Thomas de Boer, Thomas G. Brink, Rick Burruss, Poonam Chandra, Ting-Wan Chen, Wen-Ping Chen, Jeff Cooke, Michael W. Coughlin, Kaustav K. Das, Andrew J. Drake, Alexei V. Filippenko, James Freeburn, Christoffer Fremling, Michael D. Fulton, Avishay Gal-Yam, Lluís Galbany, Hua Gao, Matthew J. Graham, Mariusz Gromadzki, Claudia P. Gutiérrez, K-Ryan Hinds, Cosimo Inserra, Nayana A J, Viraj Karambelkar, Mansi M. Kasliwal, Shri Kulkarni, Tomás E. Müller-Bravo, Eugene A. Magnier, Ashish A. Mahabal, Thomas Moore, Chow-Choong Ngeow, Matt Nicholl, Eran O. Ofek, Conor M. B. Omand, Francesca Onori, Yen-Chen Pan, Priscila J. Pessi, Glen Petitpas, David Polishook, Saran Poshyachinda, Miika Pursiainen, Reed Riddle, Antonio C. Rodriguez, Ben Rusholme, Enrico Segre, Yashvi Sharma, Ken W. Smith, Jesper Sollerman, Shubham Srivastav, Nora Linn Strotjohann, Mark Suhr, Dmitry Svinkin, Yanan Wang, Philip Wiseman, Avery Wold, Sheng Yang, Yi Yang, Yuhan Yao, David R. Young and WeiKang Zheng, 15 November 2023, Nature.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06673-6