The Environment and Constraints on the Mass of FRB 190520B

Abstract

Recent observations of FRB 20190520B have revealed rapid fluctuation of its Dispersion Measure within apparently fixed bounds, as well as a reversal of its Rotation Measure. The fluctuations of Dispersion Measure are uncorrelated with the intervals between bursts, setting upper bounds $\sim 10\,$s on any characteristic time scale of the dispersing region; it must be very compact. Measurements of the full dependence of the dispersive time delay on frequency may determine the actual electron density and the size of this region. It is possible to set a lower bound on the mass of the FRB source from constraints on the size of the dispersing region and its time scale of variation. Comparison of the variations of DM and RM leads to an estimate of the magnetic field $\sim 500\,\mu$G.