Scientists unravel the cause of bright flashes in space that are thousands of times more powerful than the Sun

The authors of the study, published in The Astrophysical Journal, believe that they have unraveled the physics behind the appearance of super-powerful flares on stars thousands of times brighter than the Sun. This is reported by Space.

Scientists explain that the Sun constantly displays flares — emissions of energy and solar particles that, when they collide with the Earth, can cause a geomagnetic storm and even destroy the communication and energy infrastructure on the planet. However, solar flares are nothing compared to the superflares detected by the TESS and Kepler space telescopes on stars that are 100−10,000 times brighter than the Sun.

These stars have stronger magnetic fields than the Sun, and therefore produce brighter and more powerful flares. It is believed that the same physical mechanisms underlie the appearance of these eruptions on distant very bright stars and on the Sun, which arise from the sudden release of magnetic energy.

Scientists used data on solar flares as an analog of superflares on other stars to understand exactly what physics underlies powerful plasma eruptions. According to the researchers, the change in the brightness of distant stars over time helped to «see» these flares, which are actually too difficult to detect during conventional studies.

The scientists suggested that coronal loops (huge plasma flows that follow the trajectory of magnetic field lines), such as those in the Sun, may also be present in brighter stars — they are responsible for the appearance of superflares. And if they exist (and they cannot yet be seen directly), they must be very dense.

The modeling shows that higher flare energies will add more mass to the coronal loops of brighter stars. That is why the loops give off secondary more powerful radiation.

Scientists have found that the repeated flashes of light observed in the spectra of distant stars are the result of very hot plasma at the highest points of the coronal loops cooling and then falling back. This is what leads to the heating of the stars' atmospheres. Scientists suggest that this is similar to the coronal showers on the Sun, which also contribute to the heating of our star’s atmosphere.