Scientists have discovered a mysterious system of two rings made of hot plasma that emit the most powerful radio waves among all known similar objects. This system is also located farther than all known odd radio circles, reports Focus.
Odd Radio Circles (ORCs) are enormous structures that contain galaxies. These structures are made up of hot plasma and emit only radio waves, which is why they can only be seen using radio telescopes. Astronomers first discovered an odd radio circle 6 years ago, and since then, the detection of 10 more such objects has been confirmed. Now, scientists have found an ORC that emits the most powerful radio waves and is farther away than all other known odd radio circles. However, this structure consists of not one but two rings that intersect each other. Strangely, these rings are not completely circular, unlike other known ones. The study is published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, reports ZME Science.
How ORCs are formed is still not precisely known to scientists, although there are several hypotheses. For example, it is believed that these objects are the result of activity from supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies. That is, part of the matter that is not consumed by the black hole is ejected into space, creating a shock wave that interacts with galactic gas, forming extensive structures of hot plasma surrounding galaxies.
The new odd radio circle has been named RAD J131346.9+500320 and is located 7 billion light-years away from us. This structure consists of not one but two plasma rings that intersect, although in the image from the LOFAR radio telescope, it appears as a huge blurred spot. The authors of the study believe that such cosmic structures may contain important clues about how galaxies and supermassive black holes evolve together.
Each ring in RAD J131346.9+500320 has a diameter of about 300,000 light-years, although these are not perfectly round objects. The entire ORC is also surrounded by weaker radiation. As a result, the entire system measures over 1 million light-years across. This is 10 times larger than the size of our Milky Way galaxy. This structure emits the most powerful radio waves among all known ORCs and is located farther than all the others.
Although RAD J131346.9+500320 appears as a blurred spot, after enhancing the image, astronomers discovered the two rings mentioned above. At the center of the intersection of the two plasma rings is a compact galaxy with a central supermassive black hole.
Astronomers believe that the odd radio circle RAD J131346.9+500320 may have been created by a shock wave from a supermassive black hole or was formed by a powerful galactic wind that arose after the merger of galaxies and, consequently, the black holes at their centers.
So far, the true nature of odd radio circles remains a mystery, but the more astronomers discover such objects, the more information they gather. Perhaps the mystery of these structures will be solved in the near future thanks to the latest radio telescopes.
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