Indian astronomers find clues to the origin of energetic cosmic X-ray flashes (Fast X-ray Transients)

📌 Summary:

• Astronomers traced the mechanism behind a Fast X-ray Transient (FXT) — a non-repeating X-ray flash designated EP241107a, detected on 7 November 2024
• FXTs are energetic, brief (minutes to hours) flashes of low-energy X-rays; they are a new transient class discovered about a decade ago
• The event was linked to a gamma-ray-burst-like explosion — either the collapse of a massive star or the merger of two neutron stars
• The study was led by Deepak Eappachen and Arvind Balasubramanian of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), under DST; EP241107a was detected by the Einstein Probe (a Chinese space mission)
• A multi-wavelength approach was used: the Himalayan Chandra Telescope and GROWTH India Telescope (Hanle, Ladakh), the Upgraded GMRT, the Very Large Array (USA), Keck Observatory (Hawaii) and the SOAR telescope (Chile)

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 S&T (astrophysics, India's observational facilities and international scientific collaboration)

📝 Prelims Facts:

• IIA operates the Himalayan Chandra Telescope at the Indian Astronomical Observatory, Hanle (Ladakh)
• The GROWTH India Telescope is jointly operated by IIA and IIT Bombay
• The Upgraded GMRT is operated by the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA)
• The Einstein Probe is a Chinese mission surveying the dynamic high-energy sky

🔑 Key Term: Fast X-ray Transient (FXT) — a brief, non-repeating burst of low-energy X-rays produced by violent cosmic events