We interpret recent observations of high-to-low frequency drifting features in the spectra of the repeating FRBs as evidence of sharply changing plasma properties in the emission region, presumably the neutron stars magnetospheres. The drifts are then FRBs' analogues of radius-to-frequency mapping in pulsars and Solar type-III radio burst (but not in a sense of a particular emission mechanism). The drifts rates of $\sim 100$ MHz ms$^{-1}$ at frequencies $\sim$ GHz translate to physical size of $\sim {c ω}/{\dotω} \sim$ few $\times 10^8$ cm, matching the hypothesis of the FRB origin in the magnetospheres of neutron stars. We suggest that reconnection events result in generation of upward propagating plasma beams that produce radio emission with frequency related to the decreasing local magnetic field and plasma density.
Lyutikov (2002) predicted "radio emission from soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs) during their bursting activity". Detection of a Mega-Jansky radio burst in temporal coincidence with high energy bursts from a Galactic magnetar SGR 1935+2154 confirms that prediction. Similarity of this radio event with Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) suggests that FRBs are produced within magnetar magnetospheres. We demonstrate that SGR 1935+2154 satisfies the previously derived constraints on the physical parameters at the FRBs' loci. Coherent radio emission is generated in the inner parts of the magnetosphere at $r< 10…
We examine the possibility that fast radio bursts (FRBs) are emitted inside the magnetosphere of a magnetar. On its way out, the radio wave must interact with a low-density $e^\pm$ plasma in the outer magnetosphere at radii $R=10^9$-$10^{10}\,$cm. In this region, the magnetospheric particles have a huge cross section for scattering the wave. As a result, the wave strongly interacts with the magnetosphere and compresses it, depositing the FRB energy into the compressed field and the scattered radiation. The scattered spectrum extends to the $γ$-ray band and triggers $e^\pm$ avalanche, further b…
We discuss dissipative processes occurring during production and escape of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) from magnetars' magnetospheres, the presumed loci of FRBs. High magnetic fields are required in the emission region, both to account for the overall energetics of FRBs, and in order to suppress ``normal'' (non-coherent) radiative losses of radio emitting particles; this limits the emission radii to $\leq {\rm few} \times 10 R_{NS}$. Radiative losses by particles in the strong FRB pulse may occur in the outer regions of the magnetosphere for longer rotation periods, $P\geq 1$ second. These losses…
At least some fast radio bursts (FRBs) are produced by magnetars. Even though mounting observational evidence points towards a magnetospheric origin of FRB emission, the question of the location for FRB generation continues to be debated. One argument suggested against the magnetospheric origin of bright FRBs is that the radio waves associated with an FRB may lose most of their energy before escaping the magnetosphere because the cross-section for $e^\pm$ to scatter large-amplitude EM waves in the presence of a strong magnetic field is much larger than the Thompson cross-section. We have inves…
The recent discovery of a Galactic fast radio burst (FRB) occurring simultaneously with an X-ray burst (XRB) from the Galactic magnetar SGR J1935+2154 implies that at least some FRBs arise from magnetar activities. We propose that FRBs are triggered by crust fracturing of magnetars, with the burst event rate depending on the magnetic field strength in the crust. Since the crust fracturing rate is relatively higher in polar regions, FRBs are preferred to be triggered near the directions of multipolar magnetic poles. Crust fracturing produces Alfvén waves, forming a charge starved region in the …
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are a new kind of extragalactic radio transients. Some of them show repeating behaviors. Recent observations indicate that a few repeating FRBs (e.g., FRB 121102) present time--frequency downward drifting patterns and nearly 100$\%$ linear polarization. Following the model of \citet{dai 2016} who proposed that repeating FRBs may originate from a slowly-rotating, old-aged pulsar colliding with an asteroid belt around a stellar-mass object, we focus on the prediction of time--frequency drifting and polarization. In this scenario, the frequency drifting is mainly caused b…
The extremely high brightness temperature of fast radio bursts (FRBs) requires that their emission mechanism must be "coherent", either through concerted particle emission by bunches or through an exponential growth of a plasma wave mode or radiation amplitude via certain maser mechanisms. The bunching mechanism has been mostly discussed within the context of curvature radiation or cyclotron/synchrotron radiation. Here we propose a family of model invoking coherent inverse Compton scattering (ICS) of bunched particles that may operate within or just outside of the magnetosphere of a flaring ma…
Recent observations of repeating fast radio bursts (FRBs) suggest that some FRBs reside in an environment consistent with that of binary neutron star (BNS) mergers. The bursting rate for repeaters could be very high and the emission site is likely from a magnetosphere. We discuss a hypothesis of producing abundant repeating FRBs in BNS systems. Decades to centuries before a BNS system coalesces, the magnetospheres of the two neutron stars start to interact relentlessly. Abrupt magnetic reconnection accelerates particles, which emit coherent radio waves in bunches via curvature radiation. FRBs …
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are radio transients lasting only about a few milliseconds. They seem to occur at cosmological distances. We propose that these events can be originated in the collapse of the magnetosphere of Kerr-Newman black holes (KNBHs). We show that the closed orbits of charged particles in the magnetosphere of these objects are unstable. After examining the dependencies on the specific charge of the particle and the spin and charge of the KNBH, we conclude that the resulting timescale and radiation mechanism fit well with the extant observations of FRBs. Furthermore, we argue th…
We discuss constraints that the observed brightness temperatures impose on coherent processes in pulsars and Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs), and in particular on the hypothesis of coherent curvature emission by bunches. We estimate the peak brightness temperature that a bunch of charge $Ze$ can produce via synchrotron and/or curvature emission as $k_B T \sim (Z e)^2/λ$, where $λ$ is the typical emitted wavelength. We demonstrate that the bunch's electrostatic energy required to produce observed brightness temperature is prohibitively high, of the order of the total {\it bulk } energy. We compare cor…
Gravitational self-lensing of Fast Radio Bursts in neutron star magnetospheres: II. Applications to strong repeaters and the CHIME population
INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma（意大利国家天体物理研究所罗马天文台）；Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Augusto Righi”, Università di Bologna（博洛尼塔大学物理与天文学“奥古斯托·里吉”系）；INAF – Istituto di Radioastronomia（意大利国家天体物理研究所射电天文研究所）；INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari（意大利国家天体物理研究所卡利亚里天文台）
The propagation-induced circular polarization of fast radio bursts in relativistic plasma
School of Astronomy and Space Science, Nanjing University（南京大学天文与空间科学学院）；Key Laboratory of Modern Astronomy and Astrophysics (Nanjing University), Ministry of Education（教育部现代天体学与天体物理重点实验室（南京大学））
The recent discovery of a Mega-Jansky radio burst occurring simultaneously with short X-ray bursts from the Galactic magnetar (strongly magnetized neutron star (NS)) SGR 1935+2154 is a smoking gun for the hypothesis that some cosmological fast radio bursts (FRBs) arise from magnetar bursts. We argue that the X-ray bursts with high temperature $T \gtrsim 30$ keV entail an electron--positron ($e^{\pm}$) outflow from a trapped--expanding fireball, polluting the NS magnetosphere before the FRB emission. The $e^{\pm}$ outflow is opaque to FRB photons, and is strongly Compton-dragged by the X-ray bu…
A bright radio burst was newly discovered in SGR 1935+2154, which exhibit some FRB-like temporal- and frequency-properties, suggesting a neutron star (NS)/magnetar magnetospheric origin of FRBs. We propose an explanation of the temporal- and frequency-properties of sub-pulses of repeating FRBs based on the generic geometry within the framework of charged-bunching coherent curvature radiation in the magnetosphere of an NS. The sub-pulses in a radio burst come from bunches of charged particles moving along different magnetic field lines. Their radiation beam sweep across the line of sight at sli…
We build a model of radius-to-frequency mapping in magnetospheres of neutron stars and apply it to frequency drifts observed in Fast Radio Bursts. We assume that an emission patch propagates along the dipolar magnetic field lines producing coherent emission with frequency, direction and polarization defined by the local magnetic field. The observed temporal evolution of the frequency depends on relativistic effects of time contraction and the curvature of the magnetic field lines. The model generically produces linear scaling of the drift rate, $\dotω \propto - ω$, matching both numerically an…
We study the propagation of a strong, low frequency, linearly polarized fast magnetosonic wave inside the magnetosphere of a neutron star. The relative strength $δB/B$ of the wave grows as a function of radius before it reaches the light cylinder, and what starts as a small perturbation can grow to become nonlinear before it escapes the magnetosphere. Using first-principles Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulations, we study in detail the evolution of the wave as it becomes nonlinear. We find that an initially sinusoidal wave becomes strongly distorted as $δB/B$ approaches order unity. The wave steep…
The fast radio bursts ( FRBs ) are energetic radio bursts with millisecond duration only observed at radio frequencies. The generation mechanism is still mysterious. We have proposed a generation mechanism of both repeating and one-off FRBs. They arise from the axion star collision with neutron star or magnetized accretion disk of galactic black hole. Once we accept the existence of the axions, we find that the mechanism well explain previously observed spectral-temporal features. In this paper we show that it also explains recently observed phenomena such as downward drifting in the repeating…
In this paper we propose that a fast radio burst (FRB) could originate from the magnetic interaction between double neutron stars (NSs) during their final inspiral within the framework of a unipolar inductor model. In this model, an electromotive force is induced on one NS to accelerate electrons to an ultra-relativistic speed instantaneously. We show that coherent curvature radiation from these electrons moving along magnetic field lines in the magnetosphere of the other NS is responsible for the observed FRB signal, that is, the characteristic emission frequency, luminosity, duration and eve…
We try to explain the subpulse drift phenomena adopting the space-charge limited flow (SCLF) model and comparing the plasma drift velocity in the inner region of pulsar magnetospheres with the observed velocity of drifting subpulses. We apply the approach described in a recent paper of van Leeuwen & Timokhin (2012), where it was shown that the standard estimation of the subpulse drift velocity through the total value of the scalar potential drop in the inner gap gives inaccurate results, while the exact expression relating the drift velocity to the gradient of the scalar potential should be us…
The most common form of magnetar activity is short X-ray bursts, with durations from milliseconds to seconds, and luminosities ranging from $10^{36}$ to $10^{43}\ {\rm erg}\,{\rm s}^{-1}$. Recently, an X-ray burst from the galactic magnetar SGR 1935+2154 was detected to be coincident with two fast radio burst (FRB) like events from the same source, providing evidence that FRBs may be linked to magnetar bursts. Using fully 3D force-free electrodynamics simulations, we show that such magnetar bursts may be produced by Alfvén waves launched from localized magnetar quakes: a wave packet propagates…
Coherent curvature radiation as the radiation mechanism for fast radio bursts (FRBs) has been discussed since FRBs were discovered. We study the spectral and polarization properties of repeating FRBs within the framework of coherent curvature radiation by charged bunches in the magnetosphere of a highly magnetized neutron star. The spectra can be generally characterized by multisegment broken power laws, and evolve as bunches move and the line of sight sweeps. Emitted waves are highly linear polarized if the line of sight is confined to the beam within an angle of $1/γ$, while circular polariz…
Scenario of formation of fast radio bursts (FRBs) is proposed. Just like radio pulsars, sources of FRBs are magnetized neutron stars. Appearance of strong electric field in a magnetosphere of a neutron star is associated with close passage of a dense body near hot neutron star. For the repeating source FRB 121102, which has been observed in four series of bursts, the period of orbiting of the body is about 200 days. Thermal radiation from the surface of the star (temperature is of the order of $ 10^8 \, K $) causes evaporation and ionization of the matter of the dense body. Ionized gas (plasma…
Following the basic principles of a charge separated pulsar magnetosphere \citep{goldreich1969}, we consider the magnetosphere be stationary in space, instead of corotating, and the electric field be uploaded from the potential distribution on the pulsar surface, set up by the unipolar induction. Consequently, the plasma of the magnetosphere undergoes guiding center drifts of the gyro motion due to the transverse forces to the magnetic field. These forces are the electric force, magnetic gradient force, and field line curvature force. Since these plasma velocities are of drift nature, there is…
Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are intense, millisecond-duration broadband radio transients, the emission mechanisms of which are not understood. Masui et al. recently presented Green Bank Telescope observations of FRB 110523, which displayed temporal variation of the linear polarisation position angle (PA). This effect is commonly seen in radio pulsars and is attributed to a changing projected magnetic field orientation in the emission region as the star rotates. If a neutron star is the progenitor of this FRB, and the emission mechanism is pulsar-like, we show that the progenitor is either rapidly…
Instabilities in a neutron star can generate Alfvén waves in its magnetosphere. Propagation along the curved magnetic field lines strongly shears the wave, boosting its electric current $j_{\rm A}$. We derive an analytic expression for the evolution of the wave vector $\boldsymbol{k}$ and the growth of $j_{\rm A}$. In the strongly sheared regime, $j_{\rm A}$ may exceed the maximum current $j_{0}$ that can be supported by the background $e^{\pm}$ plasma. We investigate these "charge-starved" waves, first using a simplified two-fluid analytic model, then with first-principles kinetic simulations…
We develop a model for subpulse separation period, $P_2$, taking into account both the apparent motion of the visible point as a function of pulsar phase, $ψ$, and the possibility of abrupt jumps between different rotation states in non-corotating pulsar magnetospheres. We identify three frequencies: (i) the spin frequency of the star, (ii) the drift frequency of the magnetospheric plasma in the source region, and (iii) the angular frequency of the visible point around its trajectory. We show how the last of these, which is neglected in traditional models by implicitly assuming the line of sig…
Recent observations show that fast radio bursts (FRBs) are energetic but probably non-catastrophic events occurring at cosmological distances. The properties of their progenitors are largely unknown in spite of many attempts to determine them using the event rate, duration and energetics. Understanding the radiation mechanism for FRBs should provide the missing insights regarding their progenitors, which is investigated in this paper. The high brightness temperatures (>10^{35} K) of FRBs mean that the emission process must be coherent. Two general classes of coherent radiation mechanisms are c…
We show that the periodic FRB 180916.J0158+65 can be interpreted by invoking an interacting neutron star binary system with an orbital period of $\sim 16$ days. The FRBs are produced by a highly magnetized pulsar, whose magnetic field is ``combed'' by the strong wind from a companion star, either a massive star or a millisecond pulsar. The FRB pulsar wind retains a clear funnel in the companion's wind that is otherwise opaque to induced Compton or Raman scatterings for repeating FRB emission. The 4 day active window corresponds to the time when the funnel points toward Earth. The interaction a…
We further explored the radius-to-frequency mapping in cases of FRBs. An analytical treatment of Lyutikov (2020) is presented. The frequency dependence of the drifting rate and the drifting timescale are obtained. The aberration effect and the twist of the magnetic field lines may result in drifting in both directions. For one FRB, the burst width is larger at lower frequency according to the radius-to-frequency mapping. For the FRB population, the magnetic fields of the repeaters may be larger than that of the non-repeaters. Then, according to the radius-to-frequency mapping, the burst widths…
The subpulse modulation of pulsar radio emission goes to prove that the plasma flow in the open field line tube breaks into isolated narrow streams. I propose a model which attributes formation of streams to the process of the electric current adjustment in the magnetosphere. A mismatch between the magnetospheric current distribution and the current injected by the polar cap accelerator gives rise to reverse plasma flows in the magnetosphere. The reverse flow shields the electric field in the polar gap and thus shuts up the plasma production process. I assume that a circulating system of strea…
HETE J1900.1--2455 is a peculiar accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar (AMXP) because it has shown intermittent pulsations after 22 days from the beginning of its outburst. The origin of intermittent pulses in accreting systems remains to be understood. To better investigate the phenomenon of intermittent pulsations here we present an analysis of 7 years of X-ray data collected with the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer and focus on the aperiodic variability. We show that the power spectral components follow the same frequency correlations as the non-pulsating atoll sources. We also study the known kHz…
We report the discovery of a highly dispersed fast radio burst, FRB~181123, from an analysis of $\sim$1500~hr of drift-scan survey data taken using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). The pulse has three distinct emission components, which vary with frequency across our 1.0--1.5~GHz observing band. We measure the peak flux density to be $>0.065$~Jy and the corresponding fluence $>0.2$~Jy~ms. Based on the observed dispersion measure of 1812~cm$^{-3}$~pc, we infer a redshift of $\sim 1.9$. From this, we estimate the peak luminosity and isotropic energy to be $\lesss…
Recent polarization measurements of fast radio bursts (FRBs) provide new insights on these enigmatic sources. We show that the nearly 100% linear polarization and small variation of the polarization position angles (PAs) of multiple bursts from the same source suggest that the radiation is produced near the surface of a strongly magnetized neutron star. As the emitted radiation travels through the magnetosphere, the electric vector of the X-mode wave adiabatically rotates and stays perpendicular to the local magnetic field direction. The PA freezes at a radius where the plasma density becomes …
Young neutron stars (NSs) born in core-collapse explosions are promising candidates for the central engines of fast radio bursts (FRBs), since the first localized repeating burst FRB 121102 happens in a star forming dwarf galaxy, which is similar to the host galaxies of superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) and long gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs). However, FRB 180924 and FRB 190523 are localized to massive galaxies with low rates of star formation, compared with the host of FRB 121102. Meanwhile, the offsets between the bursts and host centers are about 4 kpc and 29 kpc for FRB 180924 and FRB 190523, res…
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are an emerging class of short and bright radio transients whose sources remain enigmatic. Within the galactic center, the non-detection of pulsars within the inner $\sim \!10\,{\rm pc}$ has created a missing pulsar problem that has intensified with time. With all reserve, we advance the notion that the two problems could be linked by a common solution: the collapse of neutron stars (NS) due to capture and sedimentation of dark matter (DM) within their cores. Bramante \& Linden (2014), Phys.\ Rev.\ Lett.~19, 191301 showed that certain DM properties allow for rapid NS c…
The origin of fast radio bursts (FRBs) remains mysterious. Recently, the only repeating FRB source, FRB 121102, was reported to possess an extremely large and variable rotation measure (RM). The inferred magnetic field strength in the burst environment is comparable to that in the vicinity of the super-massive black hole Sagittarius A* of our Galaxy. Here we show that all the observational properties of FRB 121102 (including the high RM and its evolution, the high linear polarization degree, an invariant polarization angle across each burst and other properties previously known) can be interpr…
The current state of the art in the modeling of pulsar magnetospheres invokes either the vacuum or force-free limits for the magnetospheric plasma. Neither of these limits can simultaneously account for both the plasma currents and the accelerating electric fields that are needed to explain the morphology and spectra of high-energy emission from pulsars. To better understand the structure of such magnetospheres, we combine accelerating fields and force-free solutions by considering models of magnetospheres filled with resistive plasma. We formulate Ohm's Law in the minimal velocity fluid frame…
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration intense radio flares occurring at cosmological distances. Many models have been proposed to explain these topical astronomical events, but none has so far been confirmed. Here we show that a novel way involving enhanced giant radio pulses from a rapidly spun-up neutron star near a spinning black hole can explain the main properties of non-repeating FRBs. Independent observations of such pulses, which are not enhanced, from some Galactic pulsars make our model reliable. If correct, our model would imply the existence of event horizons, the Lense…
Intense radiation field can modify plasma properties, the corresponding refractive index, and lead to such nonlinear propagation effects as self-focusing. We estimate the corresponding effects in pair plasma, both in unmagnetized and strongly magnetically dominated case. First, in the unmagnetized pair plasma the ponderomotive force does not lead to charge separation, but to density depletion. Second, for astrophysically relevant plasmas of pulsar magnetospheres, (and possible loci of Fast Radio Bursts), where cyclotron frequency $ω_B$ dominates over plasma frequency $ω_p$ and the frequency of…
We study dynamics of drift waves in the pair plasma of pulsar magnetosphere. It is shown that nonlinear of the drift waves with plasma particles leads to the formation of small scale structures. We show that cyclotron instability developed within these nonlinear structures can be responsible for the formation of nanoshots discovered in the radio emission of the Crab pulsar.
Some radio pulsars show clear drifting subpulses, in which subpulses are seen to drift in pulse longitude in a systematic pattern. Here we examine how the drifting subpulses of PSR B0809+74 evolve with time and observing frequency. We show that the subpulse period (P3) is constant on timescales of days, months and years, and between 14-5100 MHz. Despite this, the shapes of the driftbands change radically with frequency. Previous studies have concluded that, while the subpulses appear to move through the pulse window approximately linearly at low frequencies (< 500 MHz), a discrete step of 180 …
Axions are one of the most promising candidates of dark matter. The axions have been shown to form miniclusters with masses $\sim 10^{-12}M_{\odot}$ and to become dominant component of dark matter. Some of the axion miniclusters condense to form axion stars. We have recently shown a possible origin of fast radio bursts ( FRBs ) by assuming that the axion stars are main component of halos: FRBs arise from the collisions between the axion stars and neutron stars. It is remarkable that the masses of the axion stars obtained by the comparison of the theoretical and observational event rates are co…
