Parkes observations for project P892 semester 2015APRS_BPSR_15

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，旨在搜寻银道面高银纬天区的快速射电暴（fast radio bursts, FRBs）。近期研究表明，FRB的可探测性存在显著的银纬依赖性，因此SUPERBx将瞄准银纬25度以上的天区开展搜寻工作。该项目将采用优化后的图形处理器（GPU）代码开展脉冲星与快速射电暴的搜寻，实现实时发现。在平方公里阵列（Square Kilometre Array, SKA）第一阶段的时代背景下，实时处理传入数据至关重要，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率观测需求。本次项目发现的FRB将比以往所有探测结果拥有更丰富的关联信息：其一，发现延迟将仅约1秒，而非数月乃至数年；其二，帕克斯（Parkes）射电望远镜的观测将联合莫隆戈望远镜（Molonglo）、巨米波射电望远镜（Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, GMRT）、默奇森宽场阵列（Murchison Widefield Array, MWA）等其他射电望远镜开展协同观测，首次实现FRB的精确定位，随后将按需触发一系列光学与高能望远镜开展后续观测。这对于确定FRB的宿主星系、破解其起源之谜至关重要。