Scientists from McGill University, Indian Institute of Science detect radio signals sent from the galaxy

Scientists from McGill University and the Indian Institute of Science have once again made an innovative discovery by capturing radio signals from a galaxy located almost 9 billion light-years away from the Earth, according to a report by Mcgill.ca.

This is the first time that a signal of this kind has been received from so far away.

How was it possible?

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Scientists were able to make this discovery by detecting the signals using a unique wavelength known as the “21-centimetre line” or the “hydrogen line,” which discharges with neutral hydrogen atoms, as per the report.

By utilizing this concept of warped space-time as a magnifying glass, the astronomers picked up the most distant signal of its kind from a remote galaxy.

With the help of this discovery, a whole new window of how the universe was formed will be opened.

This discovery of radio signals being detected from a galaxy has been published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. This research provides a fresh perspective on how a star is created in galaxies.

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The main element involved in the formation of stars is atomic hydrogen, which is also the main fuel. The study mentions when hot ionized gas from the surrounding medium of a galaxy falls onto the galaxy, it cools and leads to the formation of hydrogen formation. This (hydrogen formation) then transforms into molecular hydrogen, eventually leading to the formation of stars.

This discovery has been made possible by a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing. In this, the light from the source is bent due to the presence of another massive body, such as an early-type elliptical galaxy.

This study was only possible because of the help of Arnab Chakraborty, a post-doctoral researcher at the Department of Physics and Trottier Space Institute of McGill University and Nirupam Roy, Associate Professor, at the Department of Physics, IISc. According to them, this signal was emitted from the galaxy when the universe was only 4.9 billion years old. 

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