Abstract
The fluence distribution of the fast radio burst (FRB) population (the ‘source count’ distribution, N (>F) ∝Fα), is a crucial diagnostic of its distance distribution, and hence the ...progenitor evolutionary history. We critically reanalyse current estimates of the FRB source count distribution. We demonstrate that the Lorimer burst (FRB 010724) is subject to discovery bias, and should be excluded from all statistical studies of the population. We re-examine the evidence for flat, α > −1, source count estimates based on the ratio of single-beam to multiple-beam detections with the Parkes multibeam receiver, and show that current data imply only a very weak constraint of α ≲ −1.3. A maximum-likelihood analysis applied to the portion of the Parkes FRB population detected above the observational completeness fluence of 2 Jy ms yields $\alpha = -2.6_{-1.3}^{+0.7 }$. Uncertainties in the location of each FRB within the Parkes beam render estimates of the Parkes event rate uncertain in both normalizing survey area and the estimated post-beam-corrected completeness fluence; this uncertainty needs to be accounted for when comparing the event rate against event rates measured at other telescopes.
The interstellar medium of the Milky Way is multiphase, magnetized and turbulent. Turbulence in the interstellar medium produces a global cascade of random gas motions, spanning scales ranging from ...100 parsecs to 1,000 kilometres (ref. 4). Fundamental parameters of interstellar turbulence such as the sonic Mach number (the speed of sound) have been difficult to determine, because observations have lacked the sensitivity and resolution to image the small-scale structure associated with turbulent motion. Observations of linear polarization and Faraday rotation in radio emission from the Milky Way have identified unusual polarized structures that often have no counterparts in the total radiation intensity or at other wavelengths, and whose physical significance has been unclear. Here we report that the gradient of the Stokes vector (Q, U), where Q and U are parameters describing the polarization state of radiation, provides an image of magnetized turbulence in diffuse, ionized gas, manifested as a complex filamentary web of discontinuities in gas density and magnetic field. Through comparison with simulations, we demonstrate that turbulence in the warm, ionized medium has a relatively low sonic Mach number, M(s) ≲ 2. The development of statistical tools for the analysis of polarization gradients will allow accurate determinations of the Mach number, Reynolds number and magnetic field strength in interstellar turbulence over a wide range of conditions.
Binary supermassive black holes are produced by galactic mergers as the black holes from the two galaxies fall to the center of the merged system and form a bound pair. The two black holes will ...eventually coalesce in an enormous burst of gravitational radiation. Here we show that the orientation of a black hole's spin axis would change dramatically even in a minor merger, leading to a sudden flip in the direction of any associated jet. We identify the winged or X-type radio sources with galaxies in which this has occurred. The inferred coalescence rate is similar to the overall galaxy merger rate, implying that of the order of one merger event per year could be detected by gravitational wave interferometers.
We present a sample of 1483 sources that display spectral peaks between 72 MHz and 1.4 GHz, selected from the GaLactic and Extragalactic All-sky Murchison Widefield Array (GLEAM) survey. The GLEAM ...survey is the widest fractional bandwidth all-sky survey to date, ideal for identifying peaked-spectrum sources at low radio frequencies. Our peaked-spectrum sources are the low-frequency analogs of gigahertz-peaked spectrum (GPS) and compact-steep spectrum (CSS) sources, which have been hypothesized to be the precursors to massive radio galaxies. Our sample more than doubles the number of known peaked-spectrum candidates, and 95% of our sample have a newly characterized spectral peak. We highlight that some GPS sources peaking above 5 GHz have had multiple epochs of nuclear activity, and we demonstrate the possibility of identifying high-redshift (z > 2) galaxies via steep optically thin spectral indices and low observed peak frequencies. The distribution of the optically thick spectral indices of our sample is consistent with past GPS/CSS samples but with a large dispersion, suggesting that the spectral peak is a product of an inhomogeneous environment that is individualistic. We find no dependence of observed peak frequency with redshift, consistent with the peaked-spectrum sample comprising both local CSS sources and high-redshift GPS sources. The 5 GHz luminosity distribution lacks the brightest GPS and CSS sources of previous samples, implying that a convolution of source evolution and redshift influences the type of peaked-spectrum sources identified below 1 GHz. Finally, we discuss sources with optically thick spectral indices that exceed the synchrotron self-absorption limit.
Abstract
We present the localization and host galaxies of one repeating and two apparently nonrepeating fast radio bursts (FRBs). FRB 20180301A was detected and localized with the Karl G. Jansky Very ...Large Array to a star-forming galaxy at
z
= 0.3304. FRB20191228A and FRB20200906A were detected and localized by the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder to host galaxies at
z
= 0.2430 and
z
= 0.3688, respectively. We combine these with 13 other well-localized FRBs in the literature, and analyze the host galaxy properties. We find no significant differences in the host properties of repeating and apparently nonrepeating FRBs. FRB hosts are moderately star forming, with masses slightly offset from the star-forming main sequence. Star formation and low-ionization nuclear emission-line region emission are major sources of ionization in FRB host galaxies, with the former dominant in repeating FRB hosts. FRB hosts do not track stellar mass and star formation as seen in field galaxies (more than 95% confidence). FRBs are rare in massive red galaxies, suggesting that progenitor formation channels are not solely dominated by delayed channels which lag star formation by gigayears. The global properties of FRB hosts are indistinguishable from core-collapse supernovae and short gamma-ray bursts hosts, and the spatial offset (from galaxy centers) of FRBs is mostly inconsistent with that of the Galactic neutron star population (95% confidence). The spatial offsets of FRBs (normalized to the galaxy effective radius) also differ from those of globular clusters in late- and early-type galaxies with 95% confidence.
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is a grand vision project to build the most sensitive radio telescope in the world. This open access book tells the story of its development – a story of ...transformational science, innovative engineering, and global collaboration. Its journey has been long and complex, reflecting the many issues faced in creating an affordable design, choosing a site, and developing a viable global organisation starting from a simple working group of far-sighted and persistent astronomers in 1993. The book begins with the emergence of the SKA concept and the first working group. It traces the development of global scientific and engineering collaborations and ever more comprehensive governance structures for the SKA, the involvement and roles of funding agencies and governments, and the long, political site selection process. This occurred alongside efforts to overcome technical barriers and the difficult process of selecting technology. It follows these themes up to the point in 2012 when the project had just transitioned from a collaboration to a legal entity and the dual site decision was made – a pivotal moment when it was clear the SKA arrays would be built. The book is based on the authors’ personal experience at the leading edge of the project over many years, as well as access to hitherto unpublished material from project archives, interviews, and presentations from many of the key players at a specially convened conference. It has a Foreword written by John Womersley, former Chair of the Agencies SKA Group and SKA Organisation Board. The book is intended for an audience ranging from funding agencies and governments involved in major research infrastructures, to historians of science and professional researchers studying mega-projects, to the astronomy and physics communities in general and interested lay readers.
ABSTRACT We present broadband observations and spectral modeling of PKS B0008-421 and identify it as an extreme gigahertz-peaked spectrum (GPS) source. PKS B0008-421 is characterized by the steepest ...known spectral slope below the turnover, close to the theoretical limit of synchrotron self-absorption, and the smallest known spectral width of any GPS source. Spectral coverage of the source spans from 0.118 to 22 GHz, which includes data from the Murchison Widefield Array and the wide bandpass receivers on the Australia Telescope Compact Array. We have implemented a Bayesian inference model fitting routine to fit the data with internal free-free absorption (FFA), single- and double-component FFA in an external homogeneous medium, FFA in an external inhomogeneous medium, or single- and double-component synchrotron self-absorption models, all with and without a high-frequency exponential break. We find that without the inclusion of a high-frequency break these models cannot accurately fit the data, with significant deviations above and below the peak in the radio spectrum. The addition of a high-frequency break provides acceptable spectral fits for the inhomogeneous FFA and double-component synchrotron self-absorption models, with the inhomogeneous FFA model statistically favored. The requirement of a high-frequency spectral break implies that the source has ceased injecting fresh particles. Additional support for the inhomogeneous FFA model as being responsible for the turnover in the spectrum is given by the consistency between the physical parameters derived from the model fit and the implications of the exponential spectral break, such as the necessity of the source being surrounded by a dense ambient medium to maintain the peak frequency near the gigahertz region. This implies that PKS B0008-421 should display an internal H i column density greater than 1020 cm−2. The discovery of PKS B0008-421 suggests that the next generation of low radio frequency surveys could reveal a large population of GPS sources that have ceased activity, and that a portion of the ultra-steep-spectrum source population could be composed of these GPS sources in a relic phase.
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