2016/02/24 by Yuan-Pei Yang, Bing Zhang, Zi-Gao Dai · 52 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics #Crab Nebula #Emission nebula #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Magnetar #Nebula #Neutron star #Optics #Physics #Protoplanetary nebula #Pulsar #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #Stars #Synchrotron #Synchrotron radiation #astro-ph.HE
paper · pdf · doi:10.3847/2041-8205/819/1/l12
published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters 819(1), L12 (IOP Publishing) · 6 pages, 3 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJL
openalex publication_date 2016/02/24 · arxiv created 2016/03/09 · arxiv updated 2016/03/16 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
ABSTRACT Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are mysterious transient sources. If extragalactic, as suggested by their relative large dispersion measures, their brightness temperatures must be extremely high. Some FRB models (e.g., young pulsar model, magnetar giant flare model, or supra-massive neutron star collapse model) suggest that they may be associated with a synchrotron nebula. Here we study a synchrotron-heating process by an FRB in a self-absorbed synchrotron nebula. If the FRB frequency is below the synchrotron self-absorption frequency of the nebula, electrons in the nebula would absorb FRB photons, leading to a harder electron spectrum and enhanced self-absorbed synchrotron emission. In the meantime, the FRB flux is absorbed by the nebula electrons. We calculate the spectra of FRB-heated synchrotron nebulae, and show that the nebula spectra would show a significant hump in several decades near the self-absorption frequency. Identifying such a spectral feature would reveal an embedded FRB in a synchrotron nebula.