Astronomers at MIT have pinpointed the origin of a fast radio burst (FRB) named FRB 20221022A, using a technique that analyzes its scintillation—variations in brightness similar to starlight twinkling. Detected from a galaxy 200 million light-years away, this FRB appears to have originated close to a rotating neutron star, specifically within its turbulent magnetosphere, just 10,000 kilometers away. The findings suggest that the radio burst emits from a highly magnetic environment, challenging previous models that hypothesized a more distant origin. This research, published in Nature, provides new evidence for the theory that FRBs can arise from the immediate surroundings of magnetars, neutron stars with intense magnetic fields. The team’s observations indicated a significant amount of energy released as radio waves, which can briefly outshine entire galaxies. Their results highlight the utility of scintillation analysis in studying FRBs, potentially revealing diverse origins and mechanisms behind these celestial phenomena. This investigation, supported by several institutions, also confirms the close relationship between FRBs and neutron stars, paving the way for future studies to explore the complex physics driving these enigmatic bursts.
