Indian astronomers from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, an autonomous institution under the Department of Science and Technology, have traced the mechanism behind a mysterious celestial non-repeating flash of X-ray called Fast X-ray Transients (FXTs) that was detected on November 7, 2024. The study focused on event EP241107a detected by the Chinese Einstein Probe mission, which is designed to survey the dynamic high-energy sky.
Using a multi-wavelength approach, the research team discovered a radio counterpart to the X-ray flash using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array in New Mexico, USA. The study utilized several Indian astronomical facilities including the Himalayan Chandra Telescope and GROWTH India Telescope at the Indian Astronomical Observatory in Hanle, Ladakh, as well as the Upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope operated by the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics. The GROWTH India Telescope is jointly operated by Indian Institute of Astrophysics and IIT Bombay.
The research suggests that EP241107a was linked to a gamma-ray-burst-like explosion caused either by the collapse of a massive star or by the merger of two neutron stars. Detailed modeling indicates the burst produced a powerful jet with kinetic energy comparable to the total energy emitted by all the stars in the Milky Way over several months, if assumed to be emitted equally in all directions. The event represents one of the rarest transient events studied in detail - an explosion not directly detected in gamma rays yet clearly linked to a gamma-ray burst origin, sometimes referred to as an "orphan afterglow."
The study was published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and involved researchers from Indian Institute of Astrophysics, IIT Bombay, California Institute of Technology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian. This content may not be financially relevant.