Parkes observations for project P879 semester 2015APRS01

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）是一类毫秒级爆发现象，目前被认为起源于河外空间，但其具体前身天体尚未明确。这类爆发现象至今仍是真正的科学谜团：截至目前，尚无任何前身天体理论能够充分解释其观测到的各项性质。我们提出观测申请，将通过与斯凯莫普（Skymapper）望远镜开展协同观测计划，搜寻‘直接’光学对应体——即时间上与FRB重合或仅存在微小时差的辐射。本次观测项目还将持续验证一项假说：针对特定天区的靶向观测是否比广谱巡天观测更有助于发现FRB——若FRB起源于近邻星系，则该结论成立。若本次巡天探测到任何FRB，我们还将同步获取其偏振数据，从而为解析这类神秘爆发现象的本质与起源提供关键的补充信息。