GB1 - Fast radio bursts: observations, ideas and prospects |
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Speaker |
Margalit, Ben |
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Coauthors |
Margalit, Ben; Metzger, Brian D.; Berger, Edo; Nicholl, Matt; Eftekhari, Tarraneh; Margutti, Raffaella |
| Talk Title |
Unveiling the Engines of Fast Radio Bursts, Super-luminous Supernovae, and Gamma-ray Bursts |
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Abstract |
Young, rapidly spinning magnetars have been suggested as the central engines behind a diverse set of transient astrophysical phenomena, including gamma-ray bursts (GRB), super-luminous supernovae (SLSNe), and fast radio bursts (FRBs). However, a significant barrier to direct confirmation of the magnetar hypothesis is the challenge of directly observing non-thermal emission from the central engine at early times due to the dense surrounding ejecta. I will present CLOUDY calculations of the time-dependent evolution of the temperature and ionization structure of expanding supernova ejecta due to photo-ionization by a magnetar engine, in order to study the escape of radio waves (absorbed by ionized gas) and asses the evolution of the local dispersion measure due to the ejecta. We find that the repeating FRB 121102 is consistent with originating from a young, ~30-100 yr, magnetar similar to those inferred to power SLSNe, and its high rotation-measure can be produced within the same nebula that is proposed to power the quiescent radio source observed co-located with FRB 121102. |
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Talk view |
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