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Category: physics – Page 2

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are one of the greater mysteries facing astronomers today, rivaled only by gravitational waves (GWs) and gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Originally discovered in 2007 by American astronomer Duncan Lorimer (for whom the “Lorimer Burst” is named), these short, intense blasts of radio energy produce more power in a millisecond than the sun generates in a month.

In most cases, FRBs are one-off events that brightly flash and are never heard from again. But in some cases, astronomers have detected FRBs that were repeating in nature, raising more questions about what causes them.

Prior to the discovery of FRBs, the most powerful bursts observed in the Milky Way were produced by , which are visible from up to 100,000 light-years away. However, according to new research led by the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON), a newly detected FRB was a billion times more radiant than anything produced by a neutron star.

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The OS axiom posits that reality operates like a computational construct. Think of it as an evolving cosmic master algorithm—a fractal code that is both our origin and our ultimate destiny. This axiom doesn’t diminish the beauty or mystery of existence; on the contrary, it elevates it. When we think of the universe as a computation, we realize that the laws of physics, the flow of time, and even the emergence of consciousness are not random accidents but inevitable outcomes of this higher-order system.

This concept naturally leads us to the Omega Singularity, a term I use to describe the ultimate point of universal complexity and consciousness. Inspired by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s Omega Point, this cosmological singularity is where all timelines of evolution, computation, and consciousness converge into a state of absolute unity—a state where the boundaries between the observer and the observed dissolve entirely. In The Omega Singularity, I elaborate on how this transcendent endpoint represents not just the culmination of physical reality but the quintessence of the “Universal Mind” capable of creating infinite simulations, much like we create virtual worlds today.

But let’s take a step back. How does this all relate to the OS axiom? If the universe is computational, it means that all processes—be they physical, biological, or cognitive—are governed by fundamental rules, much like a computer program. From the fractal geometry of snowflakes to the self-organizing principles of life and intelligence, we see the OS postulate at work everywhere. The question then becomes: Who or what wrote the code? Here, we enter the realm of metaphysics and theology, as explored in Theogenesis and The Syntellect Hypothesis. Could it be that we, as conscious agents, are co-authors of this universal script, operating within the nested layers of the Omega-God itself?

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Chinese astronomers have investigated quasar candidates from the DESI Legacy Surveys (DESI-LS) photometry catalog. As a result, they detected 19 strongly-lensed, dual and projected quasars. The finding was reported in a paper published Jan. 15 on the arXiv pre-print server.

Quasars, or quasi-stellar objects (QSOs), are (AGN) of very high luminosity powered by (SMBHs), emitting electromagnetic radiation observable in radio, infrared, visible, ultraviolet and X-ray wavelengths. They are among the brightest and most distant objects in the known universe, and serve as fundamental tools for numerous studies in astrophysics as well as cosmology.

Two observed with a small separation can be, in some cases, lensed quasars—where the light from a single quasar is bent, resulting in two images of the same quasar. More often, such objects are dual quasars, which means that they are at similar redshift and physically interacting. However, the most common scenario is projected quasars—coincidentally appearing very close to each other along the line of sight, but actually at different redshifts.

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In some cases, the black hole will even spew jets of plasma, millions of light-years across intergalactic space. The plasma gas is so hot that it’s essentially a soup of electrons moving close to the speed of light. These plasma jets glow at radio frequencies, so they can be seen with a radio telescope and are, aptly, named radio galaxies. In a recent episode of the astronomy podcast The Cosmic Savannah, I likened their appearance to two glow sticks (the plasma jets) poking out of a ball of sticky tack (the galaxy). Astronomers hypothesise that the plasma jets keep expanding outwards as time passes, eventually growing so large that they become giant radio galaxies.

Millions of normally sized radio galaxies are known to science. But by 2020 only about 800 giant radio galaxies had been found, nearly 50 years since they had been initially discovered. They were considered rare. However, a new generation of radio telescopes, including South Africa’s MeerKAT, have turned this idea on its head: in the past five years about 11,000 giants have been discovered.

MeerKAT’s newest giant radio galaxy find is extraordinary. The plasma jets of this cosmic giant span 3.3 million light-years from end to end – over 32 times the size of the Milky Way. I’m one of the lead researchers who made the discovery. We’ve nicknamed it Inkathazo, meaning “trouble” in South Africa’s isiXhosa and isiZulu languages. That’s because it’s been a bit troublesome to understand the physics behind what’s going on with Inkathazo.

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Frequency combs are revolutionizing optics, from telecommunications to astrophysics, but their complexity has been a roadblock.

Recent advancements in lithium tantalate technology have changed the game, creating a compact, user-friendly comb generator with incredible efficiency and bandwidth. This breakthrough could reshape fields like robotics and environmental monitoring, offering exciting new possibilities.

Frequency Combs in Modern Optics.

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In an article published in Physical Review Letters on Thursday, scientists carried out an innovative study testing the existence of mirror asymmetries in our universe by studying the handedness of the gravitational-wave emission from black-hole mergers detected by Advanced LIGO and Virgo.

The pillar of modern cosmology—known as the Cosmological Principle—states that, when observed at large scales, the universe is isotropic and homogeneous. This is, all observers in the universe will roughly observe the same structures regardless of where they are or where they look. As a consequence, the universe must not display a preference for stuff that rotates clock or anti-clockwise but, which is known as “mirror symmetry.”

Einstein’s theory of gravity, known as General Relativity, predicts that massive bodies can produce a type of radiation known as gravitational waves, which consist of distortions of spacetime that travel away from their sources at the speed of light. Such waves are produced in some of the most violent events in the universe, like supernovae, black-hole mergers or the big bang itself.

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An automated system could potentially monitor real-time images of coronal loop brightness shifts from the Solar Dynamics Observatory, thus enabling scientists to issue timely alerts.

“We could build on this and come up with a well-tested and, ideally, simpler indicator ready for the leap from research to operations,” said Vadim Uritsky, an expert in space physics at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and Catholic University in Washington D.C.

The discovery of flickering coronal loops as a precursor to solar flares opens up transformative possibilities in both research and technology.

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