The Origin and Polarization of Fast Radio Bursts

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• Dr. Weiyang Wang (University of Chinese Academy of Sciences)
• Tuesday 21 October 2025, 11:15-12:00
• Coffee area, Battcock Centre.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact David Buscher.

The origin of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs), millisecond-duration, extragalactic flashes of radio waves, remains one of the most pressing enigmas in modern astrophysics. While thousands of FRBs have been cataloged, their explosive progenitors and emission mechanisms are still debated. We review synthesizes current observational evidence and theoretical models to investigate the central engines powering these extreme phenomena. A critical diagnostic tool in this endeavor is the polarization properties of FRB signals. Measurements of linear polarization, and particularly the detection of extreme Faraday rotation measures and complex polarization angle swings, provide direct insights into the dense, magnetized environments local to the source. We conclude that the diverse polarization signatures observed, especially in repeating FRBs, strongly favor a magnetospheric origin, where the emission is generated within a dynamic, highly magnetized plasma.

This talk is part of the Hills Coffee Talks series.

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