Astronomers Confirm Fast Radio Burst Originates from Neutron Star's Magnetosphere

New research provides the first conclusive evidence linking fast radio bursts to the extreme magnetic environment of magnetars.

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are intense, millisecond-long explosions of radio waves that can emit as much energy as the Sun produces in 10,000 years.
A study focused on FRB 20221022A, detected in 2022, determined it originated just 10,000 km from the surface of a neutron star in a galaxy 200 million light-years away.
Researchers used scintillation, a phenomenon where light flickers as it passes through different media, to pinpoint the burst's precise origin and size.
The findings confirm that the FRB emerged from the magnetosphere of a highly magnetized neutron star, also known as a magnetar, where extreme magnetic fields twist and reconfigure to release radio waves.
This discovery sheds light on the physics of FRBs, resolving debates about their origins and offering insights into the role of magnetars in generating these cosmic signals.