Parkes observations for project P879 semester 2014OCTS05

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are millisecond bursts that are broadly evidenced to arise from extragalactic, but yet unknown, progenitors. They have presented a true mystery in that so far no progenitor theory can adequately account for their observed properties. We request observations that will glean basic information on FRB progenitors. Our observations will execute a specific test of whether FRBs originate in nearby galaxies. We have also designed our target field and time request to enable a thorough exploration of optical counterparts before, during, and after any detected FRB episode. Additionally, with a number depending on the typical distance to FRBs, our observations will raise the running list of total FRB discoveries by 10-60%.

快速射电暴（Fast Radio Bursts, FRBs）是一类持续时长仅为数毫秒的射电爆发现象，现有观测证据普遍证实其起源于河外星系，但其具体前身天体仍未明确。该现象至今仍是天文学领域的一道未解谜题：目前尚无任何前身天体理论能够充分阐释其观测特性。本研究申请开展相关观测，以获取快速射电暴前身天体的基础研究数据。我们的观测将针对"快速射电暴是否起源于邻近星系"这一假说开展针对性检验。此外，我们还针对观测天区与观测时间进行了优化设计，以便在任一探测到的快速射电暴事件的发生前、过程中及发生后，全面开展其光学对应体的搜寻与研究。结合快速射电暴的典型距离分布特征，本次观测将使已探明的快速射电暴总数量提升10%至60%。