A sudden change and recovery in the magnetic environment around a repeating fast radio burst
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration radio transients from extragalactic sources. Some repeating FRBs exhibit variations in their Faraday rotation measure (RM) due to changes in their magneto-ionic environment. We report magneto-ionic variations of FRB 20220529, a repeating FRB from a disk galaxy at redshift 0.18. For the first 17 months of observations, the RM had a median of 17 radians per square meter (rad m −2 ) and a scatter of 101 rad m −2 . In December 2023, the RM jumped to 1977 ± 84 rad m −2 , then gradually returned to typical values within 2 weeks. This sudden RM variation indicates that a dense magnetized clump of plasma passed across the line of sight. We discuss potential explanations, including a coronal mass ejection from a companion star, high plasma turbulence, or binary orbital motion.
Source: Science
Authors: Y. Li, S. B. Zhang, Y. P. Yang, C. W. Tsai, X. Yang, C. J. Law, R. Anna-Thomas, X. L. Chen, K. J. Lee, Z. F. Tang, D. Xiao, H. Xu, X. L. Yang, G. Chen, Y. Feng, D. Z. Li, R. Mckinven, J. R. Niu, K. Shin, B. J. Wang, C. F. Zhang, Y. K. Zhang, D. J. Zhou, Y. H. Zhu, Z. G. Dai, C. M. Chang, J. J. Geng, J. L. Han, L. Hu, D. Li, R. Luo, C. H. Niu, D. D. Shi, T. R. Sun, X. F. Wu, W. W. Zhu, P. Jiang, B. Zhang
Institutions: University of Science and Technology of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Purple Mountain Observatory, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia Telescope National Facility, Yunnan University, Beijing Normal University, National Astronomical Observatories, Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, California Institute of Technology, West Virginia University, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, Peking University, Zhejiang Lab, Zhejiang University, Princeton University, Tsinghua University, Trottier Space Institute at McGill, McGill University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, National Time Service Center, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pennsylvania, Guangzhou University, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Guizhou University, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, University of Hong Kong
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4416114416