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The Economic Times
The Economic Times

How did an ‘impossible’ photon survive 2 billion light-years? Scientists point to a transformation involving axion-like particles

A photon from one of the most powerful explosions ever observed has left physicists with a problem: according to standard physics, it should not have survived the journey to Earth.

The event, known as GRB 221009A or the “BOAT," short for Brightest Of All Time, erupted more than 2 billion light-years away. Yet detectors on Earth picked up an extraordinarily energetic photon associated with the burst.

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