Astronomers Trace Mysterious Radio Pulses to Binary Star System

A red dwarf and white dwarf pair have been identified as the source of puzzling long-period radio signals, challenging previous assumptions about these phenomena.

Astronomers discovered that the long-period radio transient ILTJ1101+5521 originates from a binary system consisting of a red dwarf and a white dwarf star.
The radio pulses repeat every 125 minutes, an unusually slow period that defies the behavior of traditional neutron star pulsars.
The white dwarf’s interaction with the red dwarf, possibly through synchronized magnetic fields, is suspected to generate the bright radio emissions, though the exact mechanism remains unclear.
This finding builds on previous detections of similar systems, suggesting that some long-period radio transients are linked to white dwarf binaries rather than neutron stars.
Researchers emphasize the need for further observations and data to understand the diversity of these signals and their underlying causes.