Parkes observations for project P892 semester 2015APRS_BPSR_16

SUPERBx is an extension to the SUPERB survey which looks at the highest Galactic latitudes in a search for fast radio bursts (FRBs). Recent results show that there is a strong latitude dependence to FRB detectability so SUPERBx will search above 25 degrees in Galactic latitude. It will use optimised GPU codes to search for pulsars and fast radio bursts (FRBs), making discoveries in real time. Handling our data as it comes in is essential for the SKA Phase I era so this work applies directly to the high-data rates of next generation telescopes. The FRBs discovered will have much more associated information than all previous detections. Firstly the discovery lag will be ~1 second, rather than months/years. The Parkes observations will be shadowed by other radio telescopes (Molonglo, GMRT, MWA) to allow, for the first time, localisation of FRBs, and a host of optical and high-energy telescopes will then be triggered as appropriate. This is key for identifying FRB host galaxies, so as to solve the mystery of their progenitors.

SUPERBx是SUPERB巡天项目的扩展，旨在搜寻快速射电暴（fast radio bursts, FRBs），重点观测银道纬度（Galactic latitude）最高的区域。近期研究结果表明，FRB的可探测性存在显著的纬度依赖性，因此SUPERBx将在银道纬度25度以上区域开展搜寻。该项目将采用优化的GPU代码实时搜寻脉冲星与FRB，实现发现过程的即时性。鉴于平方公里阵列（Square Kilometre Array, SKA）第一阶段时代对实时数据处理的迫切需求，此项工作可直接适配下一代望远镜的高数据率场景。此次发现的FRB将比以往所有探测结果包含更丰富的关联信息：首先，发现延迟将缩短至约1秒（此前为数月甚至数年）；其次，帕克斯天文台的观测将由Molonglo、GMRT、MWA等其他射电望远镜同步跟进，首次实现FRB的精确定位，随后将适时触发一系列光学及高能望远镜。这对于确定FRB的宿主星系、最终破解其起源之谜具有关键意义。