A Source of Mysterious Repeating Radio Signals From Space Has Been Identified
There is a mysterious phenomenon in which strong radio signals arrive periodically from space, yet their source remains completely unknown. Known as “long-period radio transients" (LPTs), these phenomena are observed as radio bursts that repeat at intervals ranging from several minutes to several hours. Only a dozen or so examples have been discovered within the Milky Way, and their physical nature has long remained a mystery.
Previous research has suggested that candidates for the source of LPTs include neutron stars known as magnetars, which rotate extremely slowly, and binary systems consisting of white dwarfs with companion stars. However, the magnetar hypothesis faces the problem of contradicting existing theoretical models.
On the other hand, while a few cases suggesting a connection to white dwarf binaries have been reported, there had been no cases in which the accretion process was directly confirmed to be actually occurring.
Against this backdrop, an...
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