Artificial Intelligence Unravels the Mysteries of Cosmic Radio Bursts ⚡ экспресс
For the repeating fast radio burst (FRB), an AI model named EDEN has been developed that, for the first time, detects signals without prior dedispersion—directly from the dynamic spectrum. Analysis of archival data from the FAST telescope for source FRB 20121102A uncovered 5927 bursts, three times more than before. This revealed that the bimodal energy distribution is stable over time, meaning it's an intrinsic feature of the emission mechanism, not just a side effect of how the burst rate evolves.
Fast radio bursts are millisecond-long cosmic signals. Previously, searching for them was like blindly tuning a radio dial. The EDEN neural network sees the entire frequency spread and recognizes the burst pattern like a musician reads notes. On source FRB 20121102A, it found 5,927 bursts—three times more than before.
Analysis revealed two clear energy classes: weak and powerful. This constancy points to an innate mechanism, likely in a neutron star with a strong magnetic field. Jocelyn Bell Burnell once discovered pulsars by poring over paper tape; EDEN discerned a hidden rhythm in radio data.
Each burst, in a millisecond, releases energy equal to the Sun's output over hundreds of years.
🎯 A single fast radio burst, in a thousandth of a second, emits as much energy as the Sun does in hundreds of years.
🎬 Fast radio bursts were once seriously considered signals from aliens—like in the novel 'Contact'.