Parkes observations for project P879 semester 2014OCTS09

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）是一类毫秒级爆发现象，已被广泛证实源自河外星系，但其起源前身天体至今仍未明确。该现象至今仍是真正的未解之谜：目前尚无任何前身天体理论能够充分解释其观测到的物理特性。本研究申请开展观测以获取快速射电暴前身天体的基础信息，本次观测将针对"快速射电暴是否起源于邻近星系"这一问题开展特异性检验。此外，我们已针对观测天区与观测时段进行定制化设计，以便在任意探测到的快速射电暴事件发生前、发生期间及发生后，对其光学对应体开展全面探测。基于快速射电暴的典型距离尺度，本次观测将使已记录的快速射电暴总发现数量提升10%至60%。