IISER Mohali, Knowledge city, Sector 81, SAS Nagar, Manauli PO 140306

Strong gravity and Fast radio bursts: Is there a link?

Prof. S. Shankaranarayanan, IIT Bombay

Location : LH3
Abstract: Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are super-energetic radio-pulsed signals with a short ( 1 sec) duration. In recent years, numerous theoretical explanations for the origin of FRBs have been proposed. Despite various theoretical explanations for their origins in recent years, including some with exotic physics, models have been unable to universally explain the properties of these events, such as coherence, peak flux, and pulse width.

In this talk, I will discuss a novel model that explains the origin of FRBs. The model has three ingredients: a compact object, a progenitor with strong, effective magnetic field strength and high-frequency gravitational waves (GWs). Due to the Gertsenshtein-Zel'dovich effect, when GWs pass through the magnetosphere of such compact objects, their energy is converted into electromagnetic waves. This conversion creates bursts of electromagnetic waves in the MHz and GHz range, leading to FRBs. Therefore, we infer that millisecond pulsars may be the origin of FRBs. Further, the model offers a new perspective on the indirect detection of GWs at high frequencies beyond detection capabilities.

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