Parkes observations for project P879 semester 2015APRS07

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are millisecond bursts that are thought 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 seek ``direct'' optical FRB counterparts---emission coincident or just adjacent to the FRB in time---via a coordinated observing campaign with the Skymapper telescope. Our observations will also continue to execute a test of whether targeted observations are more effective than broad survey observations for discovering FRBs; this would be the case if FRBs originate in nearby galaxies. Any FRB detected by our survey will also gather polarisation data, providing critical further information to assess the nature and origin of these mysterious bursts.

快速射电暴（Fast Radio Bursts, FRBs）是一类毫秒级射电爆发，目前学界普遍认为其起源于河外星系，但具体的前身天体仍未明确。这类爆发至今仍是天文学领域的未解之谜：迄今为止尚无任何前身天体理论能够充分解释其观测到的各项特性。本研究申请开展协同观测计划，借助Skymapper望远镜，寻找与快速射电暴在时间上重合或近乎同步的"直接对应"光学辐射天体，即快速射电暴的光学对应体。本次观测还将继续验证一项关键假设：若快速射电暴起源于近邻星系，那么针对性观测是否比广谱巡天观测更易发现快速射电暴。本巡天计划探测到的每一例快速射电暴，都将同步采集偏振数据，为解析这类神秘爆发的本质与起源提供关键的补充信息。