The brightest gamma-ray burst in history was caused by the collapse of a massive star

Observations show no signs of heavy elements In October 2022, an international research team including astrophysicists from Northwestern University observed GRB 221009A, the brightest gamma-ray burst (GRB) ever recorded. Now, a Northwestern-led team has confirmed that the phenomenon responsible for the historic pandemic, called B.O.A.T., is to blame. (“The brightest ever”) – The collapse and subsequent explosion of a giant star. The research team used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to discover this explosion, or supernova. As this discovery solves one mystery for him, it deepens another. Researchers speculated that the newly discovered supernova may contain evidence of heavy elements such as platinum and gold. However, an extensive search did not turn up any signatures with such elements. The origin of heavy elements in the universe remains one of the biggest unsolved problems in astronomy. The study will be published in the journal Nature Astronomy on Friday (April 12). “When we confirmed that GRBs were formed by the collapse of massive stars, we had an opportunity to test hypotheses about how some of the heaviest elements in the universe form,” says the study. said Northwestern’s Peter Blanchard, who led the charge. . “We didn’t see any traces of these heavy elements. This suggests the presence of a highly energetic his GRB like B.O.A.T.” Don’t generate these elements . ” This does not mean that all GRBs do not produce them, but it is important information as we continue to understand where these heavy elements come from. Future observations by JWST will determine whether it is a “normal” cousin of B.O.A.T. produce these elements. ” Blanchard is a postdoctoral fellow at the Northwestern Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA), where he studies hyperluminous supernovae and his GRBs. The study was co-authored by the Center for Astrophysics. Harvard University and Smithsonian University are involved. University of Utah; Pennsylvania State; University of California, Berkeley. Radbound University in the Netherlands. Space Telescope Science Institute. University of Arizona/Steward Observatory. University of California, Santa Barbara. Columbia University; Flatiron Institute; University of Greifswald and University of Guelph. Birth of B.O.A.T. When its light flooded Earth on October 9, 2022, B.O.A.T. was so bright that it saturated most gamma-ray detectors around the world. The explosion occurred about 2.4 billion light years from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius and lasted several hundred seconds. Astronomers tried to observe the origin of this incredibly bright phenomenon and were soon filled with awe. “To the extent that we were able to detect the GRB, there is no question that this GRB is the brightest we have observed to date, more than 10 times brighter,” said Professor of Physics at Northwestern University’s Weinberg College. said Wenfai Fung, associate professor of science and astronomy. PhD in Arts and Sciences and member of CIERA said at the time: “This event produced some of the most energetic photons ever recorded by gamma-ray detection satellites,” Blanchard said. “This was an event that Earth experiences only once every 10,000 years. We are lucky to live in a time when we have the technology to detect bursts like this throughout the universe.” It’s very exciting to see rare celestial phenomena like B.O.A.T. To observe. And try to understand the physics behind this unusual event. ” “Ordinary” supernova Rather than observing this event immediately, Blanchard, his close collaborator Ashley Villar of Harvard University, and their team wanted to observe his GRB at a later stage. I was there. About six months after GRB was first discovered, Blanchard used his JWST to study its effects.

Source:Northwestern University