Scientists explain the brightest phenomenon in the universe: it was confusing astrophysicists

Since their discovery in 2018, fast blue optical transients (FBOTs) have been surprising

and completely baffled both observers and theoretical astrophysicists.

So hot they glow blue, theseThe mysterious objects are the brightest known optical phenomena in the Universe. However, they were found in very small quantities, so the origin of FBOT remains unknown.

Now a team of astrophysicists from the NorthwesternUniversity presents a bold new explanation for the origin of these anomalies. Using a new model, astrophysicists believe that FBOTs may arise from actively cooling cocoons that surround jets and are launched by dying stars. This is the first astrophysical model to be in complete agreement with all observations associated with FBOT.

When a massive star collapses, it canlaunch jets at speeds close to the speed of light. They collide with the collapsing layers of the dying star, forming a “cocoon”. The new model shows that as the jet pushes the cocoon outward—away from the core of the collapsing star—it cools, releasing heat in the form of observable FBOT radiation.

“The jet originates deep inside the star, and thenmakes its way out,” explains Ore Gottlieb of Northwestern University, who led the study. “As it moves through the star, the jet forms an extended structure known as a cocoon that envelops it. Even after the jet leaves the star, this cocoon flies away with it.” When scientists calculated how much energy the cocoon had, it turned out to be as powerful as FBOT.

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