Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are intense, millisecond-duration broadband
radio transients, the emission mechanisms of which are not understood.
Masui et al. recently presented Green Bank Telescope observations of FRB
110523, which displayed temporal variation of the linear polarisation
position angle (PA). This effect is commonly seen in radio pulsars and
is attributed to a changing projected magnetic field orientation in the
emission region as the star rotates. If a neutron star is the progenitor
of this FRB, and the emission mechanism is pulsar-like, we show that the
progenitor is either rapidly rotating, or the emission originates from a
region of complex magnetic field geometry. The observed PA variation
could also be caused by propagation effects within a neutron-star
magnetosphere, or by spatially varying magnetic fields if the progenitor
lies in a dense, highly magnetised environment. Although we urge caution
in generalising results from FRB 110523 to the broader FRB population,
our analysis serves as a guide to interpreting future polarisation
measurements of FRBs, and presents another means of elucidating the
origins of these enigmatic ephemera.
%0 Journal Article
%1 citeulike:13915528
%A Ravi, V.
%A Lasky, P. D.
%D 2016
%J ArXiv e-prints
%K imported
%T A neutron star progenitor for FRBs? Insights from polarisation measurements
%U http://arxiv.org/abs/1601.06131
%X Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are intense, millisecond-duration broadband
radio transients, the emission mechanisms of which are not understood.
Masui et al. recently presented Green Bank Telescope observations of FRB
110523, which displayed temporal variation of the linear polarisation
position angle (PA). This effect is commonly seen in radio pulsars and
is attributed to a changing projected magnetic field orientation in the
emission region as the star rotates. If a neutron star is the progenitor
of this FRB, and the emission mechanism is pulsar-like, we show that the
progenitor is either rapidly rotating, or the emission originates from a
region of complex magnetic field geometry. The observed PA variation
could also be caused by propagation effects within a neutron-star
magnetosphere, or by spatially varying magnetic fields if the progenitor
lies in a dense, highly magnetised environment. Although we urge caution
in generalising results from FRB 110523 to the broader FRB population,
our analysis serves as a guide to interpreting future polarisation
measurements of FRBs, and presents another means of elucidating the
origins of these enigmatic ephemera.
@article{citeulike:13915528,
abstract = {{Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are intense, millisecond-duration broadband
radio transients, the emission mechanisms of which are not understood.
Masui et al. recently presented Green Bank Telescope observations of FRB
110523, which displayed temporal variation of the linear polarisation
position angle (PA). This effect is commonly seen in radio pulsars and
is attributed to a changing projected magnetic field orientation in the
emission region as the star rotates. If a neutron star is the progenitor
of this FRB, and the emission mechanism is pulsar-like, we show that the
progenitor is either rapidly rotating, or the emission originates from a
region of complex magnetic field geometry. The observed PA variation
could also be caused by propagation effects within a neutron-star
magnetosphere, or by spatially varying magnetic fields if the progenitor
lies in a dense, highly magnetised environment. Although we urge caution
in generalising results from FRB 110523 to the broader FRB population,
our analysis serves as a guide to interpreting future polarisation
measurements of FRBs, and presents another means of elucidating the
origins of these enigmatic ephemera.}},
added-at = {2019-03-25T08:20:55.000+0100},
archiveprefix = {arXiv},
author = {{Ravi}, V. and {Lasky}, P. D.},
biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2464628781b5eeb79144311dca721d05a/ericblackman},
citeulike-article-id = {13915528},
citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://arxiv.org/abs/1601.06131},
citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://arxiv.org/pdf/1601.06131},
citeulike-linkout-2 = {http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib\_query?bibcode=2016arXiv160106131R},
day = 22,
eprint = {1601.06131},
interhash = {e2aa0cd9919df0bc4688d6f628fa3ce5},
intrahash = {464628781b5eeb79144311dca721d05a},
journal = {ArXiv e-prints},
keywords = {imported},
month = jan,
posted-at = {2016-01-25 01:52:37},
priority = {2},
timestamp = {2019-03-25T08:20:55.000+0100},
title = {{A neutron star progenitor for FRBs? Insights from polarisation measurements}},
url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/1601.06131},
year = 2016
}