Physics of fast radio bursts and their use as cosmological probes

Event Date:
2025-05-12T16:00:00
2025-05-12T17:00:00
Event Location:
HENN 318
Speaker:
Pawan Kumar, University of Texas at Austin
Related Upcoming Events:
Other Talks
Intended Audience:
Everyone
Local Contact:

Jeremy Heyl (jeremy.heyl@ubc.ca)

All are welcome to this event!

Event Information:

Abstract:

The detection of a Fast Radio Burst (FRB) in 2007 opened a new frontier in astronomy, a field that is rapidly evolving. The search for FRBs and the measurement of their physical properties have become major scientific objectives. Canada has been at the forefront of this effort, led by the highly successful CHIME telescope. It is now well established that most FRBs originate at cosmological distances and rank among the brightest known transients in the radio band. In April 2020, an FRB was detected within our galaxy, confirming that at least some FRBs are associated with neutron stars possessing extremely strong magnetic fields (magnetars). I will describe recent work on how these coherent, powerful radio outbursts are generated. Additionally, I will discuss how FRBs can serve as probes of the baryon distribution in the universe and as tools for studying the era of reionization.

 

Bio:

I am an astrophysics professor at UT and my research specialty is exploding stars and blackholes.

 

Learn More:

Add to Calendar 2025-05-12T16:00:00 2025-05-12T17:00:00 Physics of fast radio bursts and their use as cosmological probes Event Information: Abstract: The detection of a Fast Radio Burst (FRB) in 2007 opened a new frontier in astronomy, a field that is rapidly evolving. The search for FRBs and the measurement of their physical properties have become major scientific objectives. Canada has been at the forefront of this effort, led by the highly successful CHIME telescope. It is now well established that most FRBs originate at cosmological distances and rank among the brightest known transients in the radio band. In April 2020, an FRB was detected within our galaxy, confirming that at least some FRBs are associated with neutron stars possessing extremely strong magnetic fields (magnetars). I will describe recent work on how these coherent, powerful radio outbursts are generated. Additionally, I will discuss how FRBs can serve as probes of the baryon distribution in the universe and as tools for studying the era of reionization.   Bio: I am an astrophysics professor at UT and my research specialty is exploding stars and blackholes.   Learn More: About Pawan: Kumar | McDonald Observatory About his research: Astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin Event Location: HENN 318