中國天眼捕捉到快速射電暴多次重複爆發
China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) has detected a repeating fast radio burst (FRB) -- mysterious radio signals from outer space -- for the first time, Science and Technology Daily reported.
據《科技日報》報道，中國500米口徑球面射電望遠鏡（FAST）首次探測到快速射電暴（FRB）多次重複爆發，FRB這種神祕的無線電信號來自於宇宙的深處。Scientists on the FAST project with the National Astronomical Observatories of China, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, revealed the news last Wednesday.
中國科學院國家天文臺FAST項目的科學家在上週三發佈了這一消息。The FRB originated some three billion light years away from Earth. Interference factors including aircraft and satellites have been eliminated and cross validation is being carried out, the scientists said.
科學家稱，這個“宇宙深處的神祕射電信號”發射源距離地球約30億光年，目前已排除了飛機和衛星等干擾因素，後續交叉驗證正在進行之中。
FRB has since become one of the hottest topics in astronomy. It was not until 2007 when the first FRB was discovered by humans. Fewer than 100 FRBs have been detected internationally to date.
作爲近年來天文學界的熱門話題，直到2007年人們才第一次探測到快速射電暴。截至目前，全世界探測到的快速射電暴不到100次。
There is still no cohesive explanation for the origin of FRB in the international scientific community at present. FRBs mostly only appear once, which makes them very hard to track.
迄今爲止，國際科學界尚沒有關於快速射電暴起源的合理解釋。通常情況下，快速射電暴出現一次便再無蹤跡，從而導致追蹤工作非常困難。The FRB detected by FAST's real-time detection terminal, however, is one that has been observed before, said Zhang Xinxin, an assistant engineer with the NAOC.
國家天文臺助理工程師張馨心表示，FAST這次使用實時探測終端探測到的快速射電暴之前也曾探測到過。Known as FRB121102, it was first discovered in 2012 and found to repeat in 2015. Analysis of data later located the source of the signal coming from a dwarf galaxy three billion light years away.
該射電暴被命名爲FRB121102，2012年首次發現，2015年捕捉到其重複爆發。通過隨後的數據分析，其信號源位於一個距離地球約30億光年的矮星系中。The first pulse from FRB121102 was spotted by FAST on Aug 30. After this, the telescope recorded dozens of pulses from the FRB over the course of days. On Sept 3 alone, more than 20 pulses were detected.
8月30日上午，FAST首次實時探測到來自FRB121102的脈衝。此後，連續多日，FAST每天探測到了數十個來自FRB121102的脈衝，僅在9月3日當天就探測到20多個。The number of enigmatic bursts detected so far is too small to draw any conclusions, Zhang said.
張馨心表示，目前探測到的快速射電暴太少，尚且難以得出任何結論。FAST, the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, has a certain edge in detecting repeated FRBs. This is because the 19-beam receiver installed on FAST, covering frequency ranges of 1.05 -- 1.45 GHz, is very sensitive to radio signals, Zhang said.
張馨心稱，FAST是世界上最大的單口徑射電望遠鏡，非常適合重複性射電暴的搜尋。因爲其目前安裝使用的19波束接收機覆蓋1.05GHz—1.45GHz頻段，對無線電信號有很高的靈敏度。
