Discovery by Sino-French astronomical satellite offers glimpse to infant universe

SHANGHAI, April 24 (Xinhua) -- An astronomical satellite jointly developed by China and France has detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB) dating back 13 billion years, likely originating from the collapse of an early star forming a black hole or a neutron star. This discovery offers humanity a glimpse into the universe's infancy.

The discovery made by the Space-based multi-band Variable Object Monitor (SVOM) was announced at a ceremony for China's Space Day in Shanghai on Thursday.

Launched on June 22, 2024, SVOM has completed in-orbit tests and detected over 100 GRBs, including several peculiar GRBs with unusual behavior, according to Wei Jianyan, SVOM's Chinese principal investigator.

GRBs, the most violent stellar explosions in the universe, release more energy in seconds than the Sun will emit over its entire lifetime. SVOM's observations will deepen humanity's understanding of these extreme astrophysical phenomena, Wei noted.

The GRB from the infancy of the universe detected by SVOM originated from as early as 730 million years after the Big Bang, breaking a nearly 12-year international observation record, Wei said.

The peculiar GRBs include one detected on October 1, 2024, showing evidence linking X-ray-rich GRBs to supernovae and shedding light on the origin of such GRBs.

Bertrand Cordier, SVOM's French principal investigator, said that SVOM is particularly sensitive to X-ray-rich GRBs, which were rarely detected in previous missions. Some of these bursts may originate in extremely distant galaxies.

"The findings of SVOM not only verify the excellent performance of the satellite but also provide a new perspective for studying frontier topics such as the formation of early stars, black holes and the merger of compact objects. The discovery of the distant GRB is like opening a window through time and space, allowing us to glimpse the early universe," Wei said.

The SVOM project, a major bilateral space collaboration between China and France spanning nearly two decades, is a milestone in high-level international space cooperation.

Zhang Yonghe, Chinese project manager of SVOM, said "Our goal is not only to develop a high-performance GRB observation satellite but also to build a sophisticated, rapid and user-friendly system. This allows scientists to conduct target of opportunities observations in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee, ensuring no valuable target is missed."

The success of SVOM exemplifies Sino-French scientific collaboration and is poised to advance global high-energy astrophysics research, said Wei.

SVOM is expected to operate in orbit for at least three years, continuing to search for high-energy explosive phenomena in the universe. Scientists hope that through SVOM's observations, they will be able to reveal the formation and death processes of the first generation of stars, study the mechanism of black hole formation, discover electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational wave events and refine theories of early universe evolution. ■