The Astrophysics of Fast Radio Bursts

Abstract

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) provide a glimpse of high-energy astrophysical phenomena in other galaxies. They point the way to extreme conditions that are currently undetectable by any other known means. These coherent radio flashes have timescales of microseconds to milliseconds, and inferred energies that are comparable to those of the most extreme bursts seen from Galactic neutron stars. However, the nature of FRB sources remains an open question in astrophysics. Magnetically powered neutron stars known as `magnetars' are a leading candidate for explaining the FRB phenomenon, but other plausible progenitors include magnetically interacting neutron-star binaries or accreting black holes. The diversity of FRB burst types and their galactic environments hint that multiple mechanisms and progenitor types may be responsible. Here we discuss the ways in which the SKA can uncover the nature of FRBs. In particular, we focus on the key advantages of the SKA: its Southern Hemisphere location and hence overlapping sky coverage with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, its high sensitivity compared to existing wide-field FRB surveys, its fast search timescales down to tens of $μ$s, and its broad spectral coverage with bands from 50 MHz to 15 GHz. With these capabilities, the SKA will excel in detecting FRB sources across new frequency ranges and timescales. This will aid in a better understanding of the fundamental astrophysics behind FRBs, which will in turn also contribute to their use as cosmological probes, as explored in companion chapters.