Fast radio bursts

S.B. Popov^a, K.A. Postnov^a, b, c, M.S. Pshirkov^d, a, e
^aLomonosov Moscow State University, Shternberg State Astronomical Institute, Universitetskii prosp. 13, Moscow, 119889, Russian Federation
^bKazan Federal University, ul. Kremlyovskaya 18, Kazan, 420008, Russian Federation
^cHSE University, ul. Myasnitskaya 20, Moscow, 101000, Russian Federation
^dInstitute for Nuclear Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, prosp. 60-letiya Oktyabrya 7a, Moscow, 117312, Russian Federation
^eAstro Space Centre, Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Profsoyuznaya 84/32, Moscow, 117997, Russian Federation

First discovered in 2007, fast radio bursts (FRBs) are high power (10⁻¹10² Jy), millisecond-scale, highly dispersive single radio pulses whose record high brightness temperatures suggest a non-thermal emission mechanism. As of March 2018, a total of 32 FRBs have been recorded. There is also one repeating source, from which hundreds of bursts have already been detected. The rate of events is estimated to be several thousand per day per sky (neglecting repeated bursts), and their isotropic distribution on the sky suggests a likely cosmological origin. While numerous hypotheses have been proposed for FRBs since their discovery, the origin of these transients is not yet known. The most promising models either relate them to burst-type radiation from magnetars (neutron stars powered by the dissipation of their magnetic energy) or consider them analogous to giant pulses from some radio pulsars (strongly magnetized rotating neutron stars). Increasing statistics on the observed bursts and improving the characterization of the FRB population will allow the FRBs to become another tool to probe the intergalactic medium, estimate the cosmological parameters and test fundamental physical theories.

Keywords: fast radio bursts, neutron stars, radio astronomy, transient sources
PACS: 95.85.Bh, 95.85.Fm, 97.60.Jd (all)
DOI: 10.3367/UFNe.2018.03.038313
URL: https://ufn.ru/en/articles/2018/10/c/
Web of Science

000454141800003
Scopus

2-s2.0-85059202006
ADS NASA

2018PhyU...61..965P
Citation: Popov S B, Postnov K A, Pshirkov M S "Fast radio bursts" Phys. Usp. 61 965–979 (2018)

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TY JOUR
TI Fast radio bursts
AU Popov, S. B.
AU Postnov, K. A.
AU Pshirkov, M. S.
PB Physics-Uspekhi
PY 2018
JO Physics-Uspekhi
JF Physics-Uspekhi
JA Phys. Usp.
VL 61
IS 10
SP 965-979
UR https://ufn.ru/en/articles/2018/10/c/
ER https://doi.org/10.3367/UFNe.2018.03.038313

Received: 7th, December 2017, accepted: 16th, March 2018

Оригинал: Попов С Б, Постнов К А, Пширков М С «Быстрые радиовсплески» УФН 188 1063–1079 (2018); DOI: 10.3367/UFNr.2018.03.038313