Astronomers stumble upon ancient radio signals from distant galaxy cluster

Astronomers studying a distant galaxy cluster stumbled upon ancient radio signals that might hold clues to the formation of the early universe.While studying the distant galaxy cluster known as SpARCS1049, astronomers detected faint mysterious radio waves, according to a study published in TheAstrophysical Journal Letters and available on the pre-print server Xrxiv.The discovered radio waves, which took 10 billion years to reach Earth, originated from a vast region of space filled with high-energy particles and magnetic fields.These vast clouds of high-energy particles are known as a mini-halo.A mini-halo has never been detected this deep into space before, according to the study.Mini-halos are described in the study as faint groups of charged particles.

These groups are known to emit both radio and X-ray waves.Mini-halos are typically found in clusters between galaxies.Roland Timmerman of the Institute for Computational Cosmology of Durham University and co-author of the study said in a statement in Phys.org how these particles are important for the creation of our universe.“It’s astonishing to find such a strong radio signal at this distance,” Timmerman said.

“It means these energetic particles and the processes creating them have been shaping galaxy clusters for nearly the entire history of the universe.”The astronomers analyzed data from the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio telescope.The LOFAR is made up of 100,000 small antennas across eight European countries, according to the study.The team of astronomers believes there are two causes for the makeup of these mini-halos.According to the study, the first explanation is supermassive black holes found at the heart of galaxies.

These black holes can release high-energy particles into space.The astronomers are perplexed as to how these particles would escape such a powerful black hole to create these clusters.The second explanation, according to the study, is cosmic particle collisions. These c...