Researchers at Curtin University’s International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research have identified an unusual binary star system designated GPM J071507−114153 located more than 5,000 light-years from Earth. The system contains a white dwarf—the dense remnant of a dead star—and a companion star similar to our Sun, making it the first known example of such a pairing to produce detectable radio signals.
The discovery represents a significant advancement in understanding long-period transients, a class of astronomical objects that emit radio waves appearing and disappearing over periods ranging from minutes to hours. Since the first long-period transient was identified in 2021, only approximately a dozen have been detected. Previous observations had identified similar radio pulses only in systems pairing white dwarfs with smaller, cooler red dwarf stars. The new findings, published in Nature Astronomy, reveal this previously unknown stellar combination and provide fresh insights into the origins of puzzling signals throughout the Milky Way.
The research team conducted detailed radio observations totaling more than 100 hours, analyzed using computing resources at the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre. For the first time, astronomers obtained observations precise enough to track the white dwarf’s orbital motion around its companion, allowing them to pinpoint the likely source of the radio emissions to a region near or possibly from the white dwarf itself. The observations also revealed magnetic activity on the Sun-like companion, including stellar flares and evidence of a stellar prominence—a large loop of plasma held by magnetic fields above the star’s surface.
The discovery relied on observations from multiple international facilities. Initial detection came from the Murchison Widefield Array survey in Western Australia, with precise positioning determined by the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa. Optical confirmation was obtained through the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaiʻi. Both the MWA and MeerKAT serve as precursors to the next-generation Square Kilometre Array telescopes currently under development, which are expected to dramatically increase the sensitivity and detail available for studying such rare stellar systems.
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