STORY: China's FAST telescope finds key evidence for nanohertz gravitational waves
DATELINE: June 29, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:42
LOCATION: GUIYANG, China
CATEGORY: TECHNOLOGY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of FAST telescope
2. various of scientists and their research work with FAST telescope
3. various of images caught by FAST telescope

STORYLINE:

China's FAST telescope has found key evidence for the existence of nanohertz gravitational waves.

The research, conducted by scientists from the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) and other institutes, was published in the journal Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics Thursday.

Gravitational waves are the "ripples" produced by massive objects such as black holes as they rapidly move through the fabric of spacetime.

The scientists monitored 57 millisecond pulsars with regular cadence for 41 months by taking advantage of the high sensitivity of FAST.

Eventually, they found key evidence for quadrupole correlation signatures compatible with the prediction of nanohertz gravitational waves at a 4.6-sigma statistical confidence level, with a false alarm probability of two in a million.

According to scientists, nanohertz gravitational waves lend a hand in understanding the formation of the universe's structures and investigating the growth, evolution, and merger of the most massive celestial objects in the universe, that is supermassive black holes.

Li Kejia, researcher of NAOC and professor of Peking University, said that the detection of nanohertz gravitational waves is very challenging, due to their extremely low frequency, long periods, and light-years wavelengths.

China's FAST telescope started formal operation in January 2020. It is the world's most sensitive radio telescope.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Guiyang, China.
(XHTV)