For the first time in humanity! Chinese researchers have fully monitored the phenomenon of gamma ray bursts | Universe | China
The Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences recently announced that the high-altitude cosmic ray observatory in Daocheng, Sichuan Province, has conducted a complete monitoring of a gamma ray burst in the universe, which is the first time that the whole process of this high-energy burst phenomenon has been fully recorded by human beings. The relevant research results were published online in the international academic journal Science on June 9th, Beijing time.
Gamma ray bursts are the strongest explosion phenomenon known to humans in the universe, theoretically caused by the collapse and explosion of a massive star when fuel is depleted, or the merger of two adjacent dense celestial bodies. The time when the gamma ray burst captured by the high-altitude cosmic ray observation station arrived on Earth was 21:20 on October 9, 2022. The observation station accurately detected the complete process of high-energy photon bursts in gamma ray bursts and recorded the entire stage of the enhancement and attenuation of trillions of electron volts gamma ray flow, which is the first time internationally. After analyzing the gamma ray burst data for about half a year, researchers found that it had a very rapid detonation process, and its decay process was also very rapid.
![For the first time in humanity! Chinese researchers have fully monitored the phenomenon of gamma ray bursts | Universe | China](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/27ebc476b900c54e10d156287c7c9f1e.jpg)
This beam of light was generated over 2 billion years ago when a massive star over 20 times heavier than the Sun burned out, triggering a massive explosion fireball. The fireball collided with interstellar matter, producing a large number of trillion electron volts of high-energy gamma photons that traveled through the vast universe for over 2 billion years, precisely reaching the field of view of high-altitude cosmic ray observation stations. With the powerful performance of the water Cherenkov detector array inside the observation station, researchers recorded data of over 60000 photons in just over 20 minutes. However, observation devices in the same energy region abroad have not yet achieved complete recording of the entire process of gamma ray bursts.
Cao Zhen, a researcher at the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that the most important scientific goal of LHAASO is to solve a century old puzzle. It is also a part of the composition of the universe, and how and where high-energy particles are generated are gradually being studied.
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The high-altitude cosmic ray observation station located in Daocheng, Sichuan is currently the world's highest altitude, largest scale, and most sensitive gamma ray detection device, and is a major national scientific and technological infrastructure in China. The observation station has an average elevation of 4410 meters and covers an area of approximately 1.36 square kilometers. The observation station consists of four types of detection equipment: electromagnetic particle detectors, muon detectors, water Cherenkov detectors, and atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. It can conduct research on astrophysics and other aspects in a wide band and by multiple means. The observation station was completed and put into operation in July 2021, and passed the national acceptance on May 10 this year.