Parkes observations for project P892 semester 2016OCTS_BPSR_66

SUPERBx is an extension to the SUPERB survey which looks at the highest Galactic latitudes in a search for fast radio bursts (FRBs). Our most recent results show that there is a strong Galactic latitude dependence to FRB detectability with the detection rate being 4 times higher ~45 degrees and higher above the plane; this is where SUPERBx will focus its efforts from now on. SUPERBx uses 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 (we have already discovered four FRBs in this project) will have much more associated information than all previous detections. Firstly our discovery lag is ~1 second, rather than months/years. The Parkes observations will be shadowed by other radio telescopes (in particular the refurbished Molonglo which has now reached a level of performance where it has independently discovered 3 FRBs in 2016) to allow localisation of the discovered 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 and to exploit their many uses as tools for precision cosmology measurements.

SUPERBx 是 SUPERB 巡天的扩展项目，旨在搜寻银道面外高银纬区域的快速射电暴（fast radio bursts, FRB）。我们的最新研究结果表明，快速射电暴的可探测性与银纬存在显著依赖关系：在银纬约45度及以上的银道面外区域，探测率是其他区域的4倍——这也是SUPERBx未来的核心观测方向。
SUPERBx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，可实现实时探测与发现。在平方公里阵列（Square Kilometre Array, SKA）一期时代，实时处理传入数据是核心需求，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率观测场景。
本项目已发现4例快速射电暴，其附带的关联信息将远多于此前所有探测到的FRB。首先，本项目的发现延迟仅约1秒，而非数月乃至数年。
帕克斯（Parkes）望远镜的观测将联合其他射电望远镜（尤其是2016年已独立发现3例FRB、性能已达全新水准的翻新后的莫朗格洛（Molonglo）望远镜）开展辅助观测，以实现对已发现FRB的精确定位；随后将按需启动一系列光学与高能望远镜开展后续观测。
这对识别快速射电暴宿主星系、破解其起源之谜，以及将其作为精确宇宙学测量工具的各类应用而言，均为关键所在。