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Webb finds the home galaxy of the most distant fast radio burst

The James Webb Space Telescope has matched FRB 20240304B, the most distant known fast radio burst, to a small star-forming dwarf galaxy. The galaxy's light is stretched by a redshift of 2.148, which places the flash roughly 3 billion years after the big bang. The study appeared in the peer-reviewed journal Science. Knowing the host narrows the search for the source, but it does not yet say what kind of object fired the burst.

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A small star-forming dwarf galaxy among distant galaxies.

Webb ties the burst to a dwarf galaxy 3 billion years after the big bang

The James Webb Space Telescope has located the home galaxy of the most distant fast radio burst known. Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are intense flashes of radio waves that last only milliseconds, and many are seen just once, which makes it hard to find their sources at other wavelengths.[1], [2]

An international team made the match, which France's Paris Observatory (Observatoire de Paris - PSL) and NASA announced on October 8.[1], [3]

South Africa's MeerKAT radio telescope array detected the burst, named FRB 20240304B, in March 2024, and its localisation pointed to a small patch of sky. Webb then examined a faint galaxy there with near-infrared imaging and spectroscopy. The spectrum showed how far cosmic expansion has stretched the galaxy's light: a redshift of 2.148, which puts the burst in a universe roughly 3 billion years after the big bang.[1]

A small, star-forming dwarf galaxy is the burst's home

The host is a small dwarf galaxy that is actively forming stars. Webb's image tied the radio position to that galaxy, while its spectrum supplied independent information about the distance. Researchers are studying the galaxy's setting to narrow down where such a flash can come from.[1]

The underlying study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Science. It gives astronomers a new anchor for linking fast radio bursts to galaxies in the early universe, and it opens a way to study the star-forming surroundings of such bursts at that time.[1]

Magnetars are one candidate, and more hosts are needed

Finding the host does not settle what kind of object fired the burst. Magnetars, stellar remnants with extremely strong magnetic fields, are one candidate, while other explanations remain under investigation. Because the burst was first caught in radio waves, Webb was pointed at a patch of sky already pinned down by radio observations.[1]

One identified host cannot stand for every burst. Locating more hosts is necessary before researchers can say whether different bursts come from the same kinds of galaxies, and what that would mean for their origin.[1]

References

  1. News sourceNASAWebb identifies the host of the most distant known fast radio burst
    Primary preprintarXivA fast radio burst from the first 3 billion years of the Universe
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  2. News sourceSpace.comWebb helps identify the most distant fast radio burst↩
  3. News sourceObservatoire de Paris - PSLHost galaxy of the most distant fast radio burst identified↩
Space and explorationEnergy transition and climate

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