Parkes observations for project P892 semester 2015APRS_BPSR_11

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巡天的扩展项目，旨在搜寻银道面高纬度区域的快速射电暴（fast radio bursts, FRBs）。近期研究结果表明，快速射电暴的可探测性存在显著的纬度依赖性，因此SUPERBx将聚焦银纬25度以上的天区开展观测。
本项目将采用优化后的图形处理器（Graphics Processing Unit, GPU）代码开展脉冲星与快速射电暴搜寻工作，实现实时探测发现。在平方公里阵列（Square Kilometre Array, SKA）第一阶段的观测范式下，实时处理接收到的数据流至关重要，因此本项目的技术方案可直接适配下一代望远镜的高数据速率需求。
本次项目发现的快速射电暴将拥有远超以往探测结果的关联信息：其一，探测滞后时间将缩短至约1秒，而非此前的数月乃至数年。
帕克斯（Parkes）观测将得到莫隆格洛（Molonglo）、巨型米波射电望远镜（Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, GMRT）与默奇森宽场阵列（Murchison Widefield Array, MWA）的协同观测覆盖，从而首次实现快速射电暴的精确定位；随后可根据观测需求触发一系列光学与高能望远镜开展后续跟进观测。
这一机制对于确定快速射电暴的宿主星系至关重要，进而有望揭开其起源天体的未解之谜。