Image of 'strange circles' in a distant galaxy shows a radio signal that could be associated with black holes

The strange “circular radio waves” that baffled scientists in the year 2020 may be linked to the explosions of space in distant galaxies that caused them. Through events such as black hole merging or a ‘starburst’when several stars suddenly form.

This is revealed by a new peer-reviewed study published this week in the journal. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

These radio waves are a unique phenomenon and Which had no clear scientific explanation.

At the time of discovery, the unusual event was observed by the Australian radio telescope ASKAP (Aussie square kilometer array pathfinder) and called it “Strange Radio Circuits” (or OCRs, strange radio circuitsin English acronym) Precisely because of its uniqueness.

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Now, with the release of the study and a new image captured by the Dark Energy Survey’s astronomical observation project that synthesizes data from the South African Astronomy Observatory’s MeerKAT radio telescope, scientists believe two main theories explain the circular waves: they could be the remnants of a massive explosion, Like the merger of two supermassive black holes, or as a result sudden starburst (starburst), An episode in which suddenly millions of stars were born.

“The circles are likely to be huge blasts of hot gas, about a million light-years across, coming from the central galaxy,” Ray Norris, a professor in the University of West Sydney’s School of Science, said in his journal column. conversation.

Artist’s representation of “Alien Radio Circuits”. Scientists believe that the rings took a billion years to reach the size we see today. – Photo: CSIRO

The researcher explains that the event of the merger of two black holes releases a huge amount of energy, enough to generate an ORC, but it is a starburst phenomenon. It is also thought to be a possibility because such an event causes hot gas to escape from the galaxy, Which may cause a spherical shock wave.

“Both black hole mergers and starbursts are rare, which explains why ORCs are so rare (only five have been reported so far),” he recalls.

Jordan Collier, a researcher at the Inter-University Institute for Data-Intensive Astronomy, who compiled the MeerKAT data image, said in an interview with the Australian Scientific Research Authority CSIRO that astronomers need to keep watching these alien radio circuits for more clues. . about its origins.

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“People often like to explain their observations and show that they agree with the best of our information. For me, it is even more exciting to discover something new that challenges our current understanding,” Collier said.

Until now, ORCs have only been discovered using radio telescopes. Scientists cannot capture this phenomenon with optical, infrared or X-ray telescopes.

“We need a more sensitive instrument than MeerKAT and ASKAP. Fortunately, the global astronomical community is building such an observatory – the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), an international effort with telescopes in South Africa and Australia.