Giant sparks at cosmological distances?
- Caltech Optical Observatories 249-17, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
- Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100 (Israel)
- Space Radiation Laboratory 290-17, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, 115 South 1400 East 201, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (United States)
- Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States)
Millisecond-duration bright radio pulses at 1.4 GHz with high dispersion measures (DMs) were reported by Lorimer et al., Keane et al., and Thornton et al. Their all-sky rate is ≈10{sup 4} day{sup –1} above ∼1 Jy. Related events are 'Perytons'–similar pulsed, dispersed sources, but most certainly local. Suggested models of fast radio bursts (FRBs) can originate in Earth's atmosphere, in stellar coronae, in other galaxies, and even at cosmological distances. Using physically motivated assumptions combined with observed properties, we explore these models. In our analysis, we focus on the Lorimer event: a 30 Jy, 5 ms duration burst with DM = 375 cm{sup –3} pc, exhibiting a steep frequency-dependent pulse width (the Sparker). To be complete, we drop the assumption that high DMs are produced by plasma propagation and assume that the source produces pulses with frequency-dependent arrival time ('chirped signals'). Within this framework, we explore a scenario in which Perytons, the Sparker, and the FRBs are all atmospheric phenomena occurring at different heights. This model is ad hoc in that we cannot explain why Perytons at higher altitudes show greater DMs or exhibit narrower pulses. Nonetheless, we argue that the Sparker may be a Peryton. We end with two remarks. First, the detection of a single FRB by an interferometer with a kilometer (or longer) baseline will prove that FRBs are of extraterrestrial origin. Second, we urge astronomers to pursue observations and understanding of Perytons since they form (at least) a formidable foreground for the FRBs.
- OSTI ID:
- 22370072
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 797, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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