Astro Seminar - "Radiation mechanism of Fast Radio Bursts"

Pawan Kumar (University of Texas at Austin)

Apr 16, 2019 3:30 PM

Location: Bell Room (room 103), Rutherford Physics
Astro Seminar

Title: Radiation mechanism of Fast Radio Bursts

Abstract:

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond duration transient events of unknown physical origin. At least a few FRBs are located at distances of several billion light years, and CHIME has established that there are many FRBs that repeat. Using very general arguments I will show that the radio emission is coherent, the magnetic field strength associated with the source of these events is 10^{14} Gauss or more, and the electric field is of order 10^{11} esu. I will describe recent works that magnetic field distortion and reconfiguration is responsible for the strong electric field and the coherent radiation produced in these enigmatic events. I will also address polarization properties of the well known repeater.