Gamma-ray bursts are the most powerful explosions in the cosmos. These explosive events last a fraction of a second to several minutes and emit the same amount of gamma rays as all the stars in the universe combined.
These explosive events occur only during catastrophic events like the death of a very massive star, or the merging of two compact stars, and are accompanied by an afterglow of light over a broad range of energies that fades with time.The researchers observed a gamma-ray burst with an afterglow that featured the highest energy photons -a trillion times more energetic than visible light ,ever detected in a burst.
“This very high energy emission had been previously predicted in theoretical studies but never before directly observed,” Dr. van der Horst, an assistant professor of physics at GW, said.The team used the new MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa to record the emission, which is at the opposite end of the spectrum compared to very high energy gamma rays.
Post Your Comments