ASKAP J1745−5051 Links 1.4-Hour Radio Bursts to White Dwarf Binary Orbit
Updated
Updated · spacedaily.com · Aug 21
ASKAP J1745−5051 Links 1.4-Hour Radio Bursts to White Dwarf Binary Orbit
3 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · Aug 21
Summary
ASKAP J1745−5051 emits highly polarised radio bursts every 1.34497 hours, and astronomers now tie that clock to a compact binary rather than an unseen ultra-slow spinner.
Optical spectra measured a 1.368 ± 0.053-hour orbit and identified an accreting magnetic white dwarf, while X-rays varied on a consistent 1.32 ± 0.13-hour cycle.
Of roughly 3 million survey sources, only about 100 were more than 10% circularly polarised, and this was the only one lacking a known counterpart until MeerKAT pinned it to a faint Gaia source.
The bursts can approach 100% polarisation and exceed a trillion-kelvin brightness temperature, pointing to coherent magnetic emission—likely electron cyclotron maser radiation—rather than ordinary thermal processes.
Rose called the system a stellar 'Rosetta Stone' because matching radio, optical and X-ray clocks gives astronomers a benchmark for sorting long-period radio transients, though not all are likely powered the same way.