Scientists in Canada detected an 8 billion-year-old radio signal in a distant galaxy
Scientists in an extremely distant galaxy detected a record-breaking radio signal from atomic hydrogen. The planet out of which the signal originated is thought to be a galaxy at redshift z = 1.29. The emission line had shifted from a 21 cm line to a 48 cm line, due to the enormous distance of the galaxies.
This particular discovery is extraordinary because the galaxy that it originated from is believed to have existed when the universe was just 4.9 billion years old – making the source of the record breaking radio signal 8.8 billion years old.
The detection was made possible since scientists utilized gravitational lensing to detect the signal to its source galaxy and follow it back. The scientists pointed out the magnification of lensing was a factor of 30, which enabled the team to see by the high redshift of the universe. The team additionally discovered the galaxies atomic hydrogen mass was two times as large as its stellar mass.
These results were published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomy Society,, and they demonstrate the general feasibility of watching the atomic gasoline in galaxies at long ranges. It might also open new doors for studying the cosmic evolution of neutral gas down the road with current as well as upcoming low frequency radio telescopes.
The astronomers engaged in the research work with the McGill University in Canada, in addition to the Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru. The team utilized information from the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT) at Pune. The device made it possible for the team to identify the record-breaking radio signal from the distant galaxy, enabling the scientists to dig deeper into the discovery.
If we find these sorts of record-breaking radio signals, we might be able to work with similar instances to more completely investigate the mysteries of the early universe.
