The mystery of fast radio bursts

by Dr Apurba Bera (Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, The Netherlands)

Tuesday 21 Jul 2026, 16:00 → 17:00 Asia/Kolkata

AG-66 (Hybrid) (https://tifr-res-in.zoom.us/j/91622923654?pwd=unhvib4aCAqy3Hy4mjA4RGGxKALSTE.1 Meeting ID: 916 2292 3654 Passcode: 728802)

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are mysterious short-duration flashes of intense radio emission of unknown origin. Although hundreds of such events have been detected till now, the nature of their sources and the associated emission mechanism(s) remain elusive. Circumstantial evidence suggests that the FRB emission is associated with compact, magnetized and highly energetic objects — such as neutron stars. Polarization of the FRB signals carry key information about the emission source as well as the magneto-ionic media the signal passes through before reaching Earth. Variation of the polarization state of the signals with time and frequency provides important clues about the dynamical properties of the emission source and the energetic environment surrounding it. In this talk I will discuss the observed polarization properties of FRBs, focusing on the sample detected in the Commensal Real-time ASKAP Fast Transients (CRAFT) survey, and their implications on the nature of FRB source and emission mechanism.