Shivani Bhandari (CSIRO)

Shivani Bhandari Colloquium: Fast Radio Bursts with the Australian SKA Pathfinder

Online

Abstract

Abstract: Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are amongst the most energetic transients in our Universe, but despite several plausible models, their origin remains a mystery. In the absence of multi-wavelength counterparts to extragalactic FRBs, analyses of their host galaxy environments are presently the most informative path to identifying their progenitor systems. Thanks to recent advances using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope we can now routinely localise FRBs to the galaxies they originate form, and in some cases even pinpoint the burst to a region within the galaxy. In addition, localising FRBs to their host galaxies allows us to use them as probes to trace the ionised gas in galaxy haloes, large-scale structure and the inter-galactic medium. In this talk, I will briefly review our current understanding of the FRB phenomena, highlighting the role of FRB searches and localisation with ASKAP.