ASTRODEBATA / Sergey Popov: Fast radio bursts: probes for galaxies and medium

Fast radio bursts: probes for galaxies and medium

Sergey Popov ( International center for Theoretical Physics and Sternberg Astronomical Institute of MSU)

Fast radio bursts are a relatively new phenomenon discovered just 15 years ago. They are bright extragalactic radio bursts with typical durations from a fraction of a millisecond up to a few tens of millisecond. Discovery of similar events simultaneously with high energy bursts from one of the Galactic magnetar confirms the hypothesis that powerful episodes of magnetic energy release in neutron stars can be accompanied by radio flares. There are many unsolved problems related to FRBs (emission mechanism, origin of the magnetars, etc.). Still, already now FRBs are actively used as probes of curcumgalactic and intergalactic medium. Also, important cosmological parameters can be derived from FRB observations. In near future, the role of FRBs as extragalactic and cosmological probes will grow. In the talk I review astrophysics of FRBs focusing on their host galaxies and derived properties of circumgalactic and intergalactic medium.