China's space telescope captures explosion from the early universe
China's astronomical satellite has observed an explosion originating from the early universe.
TroibNews 
China's Einstein Probe astronomical satellite has made a historic achievement by detecting soft X-ray signals from an explosion in the early universe, unveiling a new avenue for research into the cosmos during its infancy.
The results were published in the journal Nature Astronomy on Thursday.
On March 15, 2024, the Wide-field X-ray Telescope aboard the EP satellite recorded a faint pulse signal from a burst event in the soft X-ray band. This event, labeled EP240315a, displayed rapid brightness changes and lasted for over 17 minutes before gradually dimming.
Further observations from telescopes in other countries confirmed that this burst originated from the faraway early universe.
At the time of this burst, the universe was merely 10 percent of its current age, with its signal taking 12.5 billion years to reach our planet. The detection of EP240315a marks the first time soft X-ray signals from an early universe explosion have been captured by humanity.
Scientists categorize X-rays as "soft" or "hard" based on their energy levels; soft X-rays possess lower energy, while hard X-rays are higher energy.
"This is just a beginning, and the discovery showcased the remarkable potential of EP in detecting cosmic explosions from the early universe," said Yuan Weimin, principal investigator of the EP mission and a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The discovery of EP240315a also fostered collaboration between the EP team and Dr. Roberto Ricci from the University of Rome Tor Vergata in Italy.
Dr. Ricci initiated long-term monitoring of this gamma-ray burst in the radio band. His three-month observations using the Australia Telescope Compact Array confirmed that the energy output of EP240315a aligns with characteristics of a GRB.
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are among the universe's most powerful explosive events, usually resulting from massive star explosions. Further analysis indicated that EP240315a is linked to a GRB identified as GRB240315C.
"These results show that a substantial fraction of FXRTs may be associated with GRBs and that sensitive X-ray monitors, such as the EP, can pinpoint them in the distant universe, and combining the power of X-ray and radio observations hands us a new way to explore these ancient explosions even without detecting their gamma rays," commented Dr. Roberto Ricci.
Despite this progress, a mystery remains regarding the GRB discovered by the EP. Typically, X-rays emerge tens of seconds before gamma rays; however, in the case of EP240315a, the X-rays were detected more than six minutes prior.
"Such a long delay has never been observed before," stated Sun Hui, an associate researcher at the National Astronomical Observatories of CAS and one of the study's co-first authors.
Gao He, a co-corresponding author from Beijing Normal University, remarked that this discovery offers a new perspective and might prompt a reassessment of current GRB models.
Frederick R Cook for TROIB News
The results were published in the journal Nature Astronomy on Thursday.
On March 15, 2024, the Wide-field X-ray Telescope aboard the EP satellite recorded a faint pulse signal from a burst event in the soft X-ray band. This event, labeled EP240315a, displayed rapid brightness changes and lasted for over 17 minutes before gradually dimming.
Further observations from telescopes in other countries confirmed that this burst originated from the faraway early universe.
At the time of this burst, the universe was merely 10 percent of its current age, with its signal taking 12.5 billion years to reach our planet. The detection of EP240315a marks the first time soft X-ray signals from an early universe explosion have been captured by humanity.
Scientists categorize X-rays as "soft" or "hard" based on their energy levels; soft X-rays possess lower energy, while hard X-rays are higher energy.
"This is just a beginning, and the discovery showcased the remarkable potential of EP in detecting cosmic explosions from the early universe," said Yuan Weimin, principal investigator of the EP mission and a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The discovery of EP240315a also fostered collaboration between the EP team and Dr. Roberto Ricci from the University of Rome Tor Vergata in Italy.
Dr. Ricci initiated long-term monitoring of this gamma-ray burst in the radio band. His three-month observations using the Australia Telescope Compact Array confirmed that the energy output of EP240315a aligns with characteristics of a GRB.
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are among the universe's most powerful explosive events, usually resulting from massive star explosions. Further analysis indicated that EP240315a is linked to a GRB identified as GRB240315C.
"These results show that a substantial fraction of FXRTs may be associated with GRBs and that sensitive X-ray monitors, such as the EP, can pinpoint them in the distant universe, and combining the power of X-ray and radio observations hands us a new way to explore these ancient explosions even without detecting their gamma rays," commented Dr. Roberto Ricci.
Despite this progress, a mystery remains regarding the GRB discovered by the EP. Typically, X-rays emerge tens of seconds before gamma rays; however, in the case of EP240315a, the X-rays were detected more than six minutes prior.
"Such a long delay has never been observed before," stated Sun Hui, an associate researcher at the National Astronomical Observatories of CAS and one of the study's co-first authors.
Gao He, a co-corresponding author from Beijing Normal University, remarked that this discovery offers a new perspective and might prompt a reassessment of current GRB models.
Frederick R Cook for TROIB News
