According to recent research results, polarization could hold key clues to unraveling the enigma of fast radio bursts (FRBs).

The first fast radio burst detected dates back to 2007. Since then, nearly a hundred of these ultrashort cosmic “explosions” have been recorded, some of them being periodic. Despite these multiple observations, the origin of these signals remains unknown to this day. Black holes, simple neutron stars, pulsars or magnetars are among the sources considered. A new study conducted by an international team on five different sources of these strange signals could finally solve this mystery.

New study by international team of scientists identifies polarization as key trait that may reveal the origin of the powerful millisecond-long cosmic radio explosions.

Nearly 15 years after the discovery of fast radio bursts (FRBs), the origin of the millisecond-long, deep-space cosmic explosions remains a mystery. That may soon change, thanks to the work of an international team of scientists which tracked hundreds of the bursts from five different sources and found clues in FRB polarization patterns that may reveal their origin.

A correlation between the observed frequencies and polarizations of the energetic radio pulses suggests the bursts originate in active regions such as magnetars in binary systems.

Detected in the galaxy M81, which is about 12 million light years from Earth, baffles astronomers

Its origin challenges assumptions about what causes these enigmatic signals

Twenty years after their initial detection, enigmatic blasts from the sky are starting to deliver tentative answers, as well as plenty of science.