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Kirsten F, Marcote B, Nimmo K, Hessels JWT, Bhardwaj M, Tendulkar SP, Keimpema A, Yang J, Snelders MP, Scholz P, Pearlman AB, Law CJ, Peters WM, Giroletti M, Paragi Z, Bassa C, Hewitt DM, Bach U, Bezrukovs V, Burgay M, Buttaccio ST, Conway JE, Corongiu A, Feiler R, Forssén O, Gawroński MP, Karuppusamy R, Kharinov MA, Lindqvist M, Maccaferri G, Melnikov A, Ould-Boukattine OS, Possenti A, Surcis G, Wang N, Yuan J, Aggarwal K, Anna-Thomas R, Bower GC, Blaauw R, Burke-Spolaor S, Cassanelli T, Clarke TE, Fonseca E, Gaensler BM, Gopinath A, Kaspi VM, Kassim N, Lazio TJW, Leung C, Li DZ, Lin HH, Masui KW, Mckinven R, Michilli D, Mikhailov AG, Ng C, Orbidans A, Pen UL, Petroff E, Rahman M, Ransom SM, Shin K, Smith KM, Stairs IH, Vlemmings W. A repeating fast radio burst source in a globular cluster. Nature 2022; 602:585-589. [PMID: 35197615 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04354-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are flashes of unknown physical origin1. The majority of FRBs have been seen only once, although some are known to generate multiple flashes2,3. Many models invoke magnetically powered neutron stars (magnetars) as the source of the emission4,5. Recently, the discovery6 of another repeater (FRB 20200120E) was announced, in the direction of the nearby galaxy M81, with four potential counterparts at other wavelengths6. Here we report observations that localized the FRB to a globular cluster associated with M81, where it is 2 parsecs away from the optical centre of the cluster. Globular clusters host old stellar populations, challenging FRB models that invoke young magnetars formed in a core-collapse supernova. We propose instead that FRB 20200120E originates from a highly magnetized neutron star formed either through the accretion-induced collapse of a white dwarf, or the merger of compact stars in a binary system7. Compact binaries are efficiently formed inside globular clusters, so a model invoking them could also be responsible for the observed bursts.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Kirsten
- Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, Onsala Space Observatory, Onsala, Sweden. .,ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, Dwingeloo, The Netherlands.
| | - B Marcote
- Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC, Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
| | - K Nimmo
- ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, Dwingeloo, The Netherlands.,Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - J W T Hessels
- ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, Dwingeloo, The Netherlands.,Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - M Bhardwaj
- Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,McGill Space Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - S P Tendulkar
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India.,National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Pune, India
| | - A Keimpema
- Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC, Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
| | - J Yang
- Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, Onsala Space Observatory, Onsala, Sweden
| | - M P Snelders
- Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - P Scholz
- Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - A B Pearlman
- Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,McGill Space Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - C J Law
- Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.,Owens Valley Radio Observatory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - W M Peters
- Remote Sensing Division, US Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, USA
| | - M Giroletti
- Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Istituto di Radioastronomia, Bologna, Italy
| | - Z Paragi
- Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC, Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
| | - C Bassa
- ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
| | - D M Hewitt
- Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - U Bach
- Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, Bonn, Germany
| | - V Bezrukovs
- Engineering Research Institute Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre (ERI VIRAC), Ventspils University of Applied Sciences (VUAS), Ventspils, Latvia
| | - M Burgay
- Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, Selargius, Italy
| | - S T Buttaccio
- Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Istituto di Radioastronomia Radiotelescopio di Noto, Noto, Italy
| | - J E Conway
- Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, Onsala Space Observatory, Onsala, Sweden
| | - A Corongiu
- Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, Selargius, Italy
| | - R Feiler
- Institute of Astronomy, Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Informatics, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland
| | - O Forssén
- Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, Onsala Space Observatory, Onsala, Sweden
| | - M P Gawroński
- Institute of Astronomy, Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Informatics, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland
| | - R Karuppusamy
- Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, Bonn, Germany
| | - M A Kharinov
- Institute of Applied Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - M Lindqvist
- Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, Onsala Space Observatory, Onsala, Sweden
| | - G Maccaferri
- Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Istituto di Radioastronomia, Bologna, Italy
| | - A Melnikov
- Institute of Applied Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - O S Ould-Boukattine
- Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - A Possenti
- Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, Selargius, Italy.,Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Cagliari, Monserrato, Italy
| | - G Surcis
- Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, Selargius, Italy
| | - N Wang
- Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, Urumqi, China
| | - J Yuan
- Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, Urumqi, China
| | - K Aggarwal
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA.,Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA
| | - R Anna-Thomas
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA.,Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA
| | - G C Bower
- Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Hilo, HI, USA
| | - R Blaauw
- ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
| | - S Burke-Spolaor
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA.,Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA.,Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - T Cassanelli
- Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - T E Clarke
- Remote Sensing Division, US Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, USA
| | - E Fonseca
- Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,McGill Space Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA.,Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA
| | - B M Gaensler
- Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - A Gopinath
- Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - V M Kaspi
- Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,McGill Space Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - N Kassim
- Remote Sensing Division, US Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, USA
| | - T J W Lazio
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - C Leung
- MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - D Z Li
- Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - H H Lin
- Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - K W Masui
- MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - R Mckinven
- Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - D Michilli
- Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,McGill Space Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - A G Mikhailov
- Institute of Applied Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - C Ng
- Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - A Orbidans
- Engineering Research Institute Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre (ERI VIRAC), Ventspils University of Applied Sciences (VUAS), Ventspils, Latvia
| | - U L Pen
- Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.,Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - E Petroff
- Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,McGill Space Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - M Rahman
- Sidrat Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - S M Ransom
- National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - K Shin
- MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - K M Smith
- Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - I H Stairs
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - W Vlemmings
- Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, Onsala Space Observatory, Onsala, Sweden
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