The discovery could provide important insights into the nature of these mysterious bodies. This posed questions about the power sources responsible for the radiation. Brown dwarfs are not true stars because they are not massive enough to kickstart the burning of hydrogen in their cores. But at over 12 times the mass of Jupiter, they can fuse hydrogen into deuterium, although this energy source peters out after about 10 million years. LP944-20 is thought to be much older than this, suggesting the radio waves have a different energy source.
Synchrotron radiation is a likely candidate for the brown dwarf's battery.
As electrons spiral around a star's atmosphere under the influence of its magnetic field, they release synchrotron radiation at radio wavelengths. This physical process leads to a remarkably close and predictable relationship between X-ray and radio emissions from individual stars, including the Sun. Electrons circulating in a weak field would travel more slowly and spend more time emitting synchrotron radiation - resulting in a disproportionately intense signal. All rights reserved.