Astro Lunch Seminar: Jeff Peterson

September 29, 2023 - 12:00pm

All-Sky Telescopes for Fast Radio Bursts

Abstract: Fast Radio Bursts continue to surprise and delight astrophysicists. Over a thousand of these bright, millisecond flashes have been observed at radio frequencies. A few that repeat have been associated with galaxies at cosmological distances with redshifts from 0.07 to 2. FRBs are exceptionally bright: some have isotropic brightness temperatures as high as 10^35 K, twenty orders of magnitude higher than typical gamma ray bursts. Yet FRBs are also quite common, with all-sky rates exceeding thousands per day. Explaining this brightness, along with the occurrence rate, remains a challenge. A few cases stand out: One burst source seems to be associated with a Magnetar typically found in dense active regions, while another is in globular cluster where stars are old and quiet. I will present an FRB discovery timeline then discuss the discovery potential for upcoming Horizon-to-Horizon observations with the BURSTT telescope. I will also describe potential impact to Cosmology from future expanded All-Sky FRB telescopes.

Location and Address

[CMU Campus] Wean Hall 8325
Department members, see email for remote access. Non-department members, contact paugrad@pitt.edu for access or join the Physics & Astronomy Events Newsletter