Quark nova model for fast radio bursts

Fast radio bursts （FRBs） are puzzling, millisecond, energetic radio transients with no discernible source; observations show no counterparts in other frequency bands. The birth of a quark star from a parent neutron star experiencing a quark nova - previously thought undetectable when born in isolation - provides a natural explanation for the emission characteristics of FRBs. The generation of unstable r-process elements in the quark nova ejecta provides millisecond exponential injection of electrons into the surrounding strong magnetic field at the parent neutron star＇s light cylinder via β-decay. This radio synchrotron emission has a total duration of hundreds of milliseconds and matches the observed spectrum while reducing the inferred dispersion measure by approximately 200 cm-3 pc. The model allows indirect measurement of neutron star magnetic fields and periods in addition to providing astronomical measurements of β-decay chains of unstable neutron rich nuclei. Using this model, we can calculate expected FRB average energies （- 1041 erg） and spectral shapes, and provide a theoretical framework for determining distances.

Optical identification of radio-loud active galactic nuclei in the ROSAT-Green-Bank sample with SDSS spectroscopy

Results of extended and refined optical identification of 181 radio/X-ray sources in the RASS-Green Bank （RGB） catalog are presented （Brinkmann et al. 1997） which have been spectroscopically observed in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey （SDSS） DR5. The SDSS spectra of the optical counterparts are modeled in a careful and selfconsistent way by incorporating the host galaxy＇s starlight. Optical emission line parameters are presented, which are derived accurately and reliably, along with the radio 1.4- 5 GHz spectral indices estimated using （non-simultaneous） archival data. For 72 sources, the identifications are presented for the first time. It is confirmed that the majority of strong radio/X-ray emitters are radio-loud active galactic nuclei （AGNs）, particularly blazars. Taking advantage of the high spectral quality and resolution and our refined spectral modeling, we are able to disentangle narrow line radio galaxies （NLRGs）, as vaguely termed in most previous identification work, into Seyfert II galaxies and LINERs （low-ionization nuclear emission regions）, based on the standard emission line diagnostics. The NLRGs in the RGB sample, mostly belonging to ＇weak line radio galaxies＇, are found to have optical spectra consistent predominantly with LINERs, and only a small fraction with Seyfert II galaxies. A small number of LINERs have radio power as high as 10623 - 10^26 W Hz^- 1 at 5 GHz, being among the strongest radio emitting LINERs known so far. Two sources are identified with radio-loud narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxies （NLS 1 s）, a class of rare objects. The presence is also confirmed of flat-spectrum radio quasars whose radio-optical-X-ray effective spectral indices are similar to those of High-energy peaked BL Lacs （HBLs）, as suggested by Padovani et al., although it is still a debate as to whether this is the case for their actual spectral energy distributions.

The connection between radio and γ-ray emission in Fermi/LAT blazars

We collect the second Large Area Telescope AGN catalog （2LAC） and Monitor of Jets in AGN with VLBA Equipment （MOJAVE） quasi-simultaneous data to investigate the radio-γ connection of blazars. The cross sample contains 166 sources. The statistical analysis based on this sample confirms positive correlations between these two bands, but the correlations become weaker as the γ-ray energy increases. The statistical results between various parameters show negative correla- tions of γ-ray photon spectral index with γ-ray loudness for both Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars （FSRQs） and BL Lacertae objects, positive correlations of γ-ray variability index with the γ-ray loudness for FSRQs, a negative correlation of the γ-ray variabil- ity index with the γ-ray photon spectral index for FSRQs, and negative correlations of γ-ray photon spectral index with γ-ray luminosity for FSRQs. These results suggest that the γ-ray variability may be due to changes inside the γ-ray emission region like the injected power, rather than changes in the photon density of the external radiation fields, and the variability amplitude tends to be larger as the γ-rays are closer to the high energy peak of the spectral energy distribution （SED）. No correlation of variabil- ity index found for BL Lacertae objects implies that variability behavior may differ below and above the peak energy.

Spectral indices for radio emission of 228 pulsars

We determine spectral indices of 228 pulsars by using Parkes pulsar data observed at 1.4 GHz, among which 200 spectra are newly determined. The indices are distributed in the range from -4.84 to -0.46. Together with known pulsar spectra from literature, we tried to find clues to the pulsar emission process. The wealCcorrelations between the spectral index, the spin-down energy loss rate E and the poten- tial drop in the polar gap Aψ hint that emission properties are related to the particle acceleration process in a pulsar＇s magnetosphere.

Intensity distribution function and statistical properties of fast radio bursts

Fast Radio Bursts （FRBs） are intense radio flashes from the sky that are characterized by mil- lisecond durations and Jansky-level flux densities. We carried out a statistical analysis on FRBs that have been discovered. Their mean dispersion measure, after subtracting the contribution from the interstellar medium of our Galaxy, is found to be ~ 660 pc cm-3, supporting their being from a cosmological origin. Their energy released in the radio band spans about two orders of magnitude, with a mean value of ~ 10-39 erg. More interestingly, although the study of FRBs is still in a very early phase, the published collection of FRBs enables us to derive a useful intensity distribution function. For the 16 non-repeating FRBs detected by the Parkes telescope and the Green Bank Telescope, the intensity distribution can be described as dN/dFobs = （4.1± 1.3） × 103 F-obs1.1±0.2 sky-1 d-l, where Fobs is the observed radio obs fluence in units of Jy ms. Here the power-law index is significantly flatter than the expected value of 2.5 for standard candles distributed homogeneously in a flat Euclidean space. Based on this intensity distribution function, the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope （FAST） is predicted to be able to detect about five FRBs for every 1000 h of observation time.

Recent results of zebra patterns in solar radio bursts

This review covers the most recent experimental results and theoretical research on zebra patterns （ZPs） in solar radio bursts. The basic attention is given to events with new peculiar elements of zebra patterns received over the last few years. All new properties are considered in light of both what was known earlier and new theoretical models. Large-scale ZPs consisting of small-scale fiber bursts could be explained by simultaneous inclusion of two mechanisms when whistler waves ＂high- light＂ the levels of double plasma resonance （DPR）. A unique fine structure was observed in the event on 2006 December 13： spikes in absorption formed dark ZP stripes against the absorptive type Ⅲ-like bursts. The spikes in absorption can appear in accordance with well known mechanisms of absorptive bursts. The additional injection of fast particles filled the loss-cone （breaking the loss-cone distribution）, and the generation of the continuum was quenched at these moments. The maximum absorptive effect occurs at the DPR levels. The parameters of millisecond spikes are determined by small dimensions of the particle beams and local scale heights in the radio source. Thus, the DPR model helps to understand severai aspects of unusual elements of ZPs. However, the simultaneous existence of several tens of the DPR levels in the corona is impossible for any realistic profile of the plasma density and magnetic field. Three new theories of ZPs are examined. The formation of eigenmodes of transparency and opac- ity during the propagation of radio waves through regular coronal inhomogeneities is the most natural and promising mechanism. Two other models （nonlinear periodic space - charge waves and scattering of fast protons on ion-sound harmonics） could happen in large radio bursts.

A model of fast radio bursts: collisions between episodic magnetic blobs

Fast radio bursts(FRBs) are bright radio pulses from the sky with millisecond durations and Jansky-level flux densities. Their origins are still largely uncertain. Here we suggest a new model for FRBs. We argue that the collision of a white dwarf with a black hole can generate a transient accretion disk, from which powerful episodic magnetic blobs will be launched. The collision between two consecutive magnetic blobs can result in a catastrophic magnetic reconnection, which releases a large amount of free magnetic energy and forms a forward shock. The shock propagates through the cold magnetized plasma within the blob in the collision region, radiating through the synchrotron maser mechanism,which is responsible for a non-repeating FRB signal. Our calculations show that the theoretical energetics, radiation frequency, duration timescale and event rate can be very consistent with the observational characteristics of FRBs.

Extragalactic dispersion measures of fast radio bursts

Fast radio bursts show large dispersion measures, much larger than the Galactic dispersion measure foreground. Therefore, they evidently have an extragalac- tic origin. We investigate possible contributions to the dispersion measure from host galaxies. We simulate the spatial distribution of fast radio bursts and calculate the dis- persion measures along the sightlines from fast radio bursts to the edge of host galaxies by using the scaled NE2001 model for thermal electron density distributions. We find that contributions to the dispersion measure of fast radio bursts from the host galaxy follow a skew Gaussian distribution. The peak and the width at half maximum of the dispersion measure distribution increase with the inclination angle of a spiral galaxy, to large values when the inclination angle is over 70~. The largest dispersion measure produced by an edge-on spiral galaxy can reach a few thousand pc cm-3, while the dispersion measures from dwarf galaxies and elliptical galaxies have a maximum of only a few tens of pc cm-3. Notice, however, that additional dispersion measures of tens to hundreds of pc cm-3 can be produced by high density clumps in host galaxies. Simulations that include dispersion measure contributions from the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Andromeda Galaxy are shown as examples to demonstrate how to ex- tract the dispersion measure from the intergalactic medium.

Combined limit on the photon mass with nine localized fast radio bursts

A nonzero-mass hypothesis for the photon can produce a frequency-dependent dispersion of light, which results in arrival-time differences of photons with different frequencies originating from a given transient source. Extragalactic fast radio bursts(FRBs), with their low frequency emissions, short time durations, and long propagation distances, are excellent astrophysical probes to constrain the rest mass of the photon mγ. However, the derivation of a limit on mγis complicated by the similar frequency dependences of dispersion expected from the plasma and nonzero photon mass effects. If a handful measurements of redshift for FRBs are available, then the different redshift dependences of the plasma and photon mass contributions to the dispersion measure(DM) might be able to break dispersion degeneracy in testing the photon mass. For now, nine FRBs with redshift measurements have been reported, which can turn this idea into reality. Taking into account the DM contributions from both the plasma and a possible photon mass,we use the data on the nine FRBs to derive a combined limit of mγ≤ 7.1 × 10^-51 kg, or equivalently mγ≤ 4.0 × 10^-15 e V/c2 at 68% confidence level, which is essentially as good as or represents a factor of 7 improvement over previous limits obtained by the single FRBs. Additionally, a reasonable estimation for the DM contribution from the host galaxy, DMhost, can be simultaneously achieved in our analysis. The rapid progress in localizing FRBs will further tighten the constraints on both mγ and DMhost.

A Fast Radio Burst Backend for the Tianlai Dish Pathfinder Array

The Tianlai Dish Pathfinder Array is a radio interferometer array consisting of 16 six-meter dish antennas.The original digital backend integration time is at the seconds level,designed for H I intensity mapping experiment.A new digital backend with millisecond response is added to enable it to search for fast radio burst during its observations.The design and calibration of this backend,and the real time search pipeline for it are described in this paper.It is capable of forming 16 digital beams for each linear polarization,covering an area of 19.6 square degrees.The search pipeline is capable of searching for,recording and classifying FRBs automatically in real time.In commissioning,we succeeded in capturing the signal pulses from the pulsars PSR B0329+54 and B2021+51.

A compiled catalog of rotation measures of radio point sources

We compiled a catalog of Faraday rotation measures （RMs） for 4553 extragalactic radio point sources published in literature. These RMs were derived from multi-frequency polarization observations. The RM data are compared to those in the NRAO VLA Sky Survey （NVSS） RM catalog. We reveal a systematic uncertainty of about 10.0± 1.5rad m^-2 in the NVSS RM catalog. The Galactic foreground RM is calculated through a weighted averaging method by using the compiled RM catalog together with the NVSS RM catalog, with careful consideration of uncertainties in the RM data. The data from the catalog and the interface for the Galactic foreground RM calculations are publicly available on the webpage： http：//zmtt.bao.ac.cn/RM/.

Fast radio burst search： cross spectrum vs. auto spectrum method

The search for fast radio bursts(FRBs) is a hot topic in current radio astronomy studies. In this work, we carry out a single pulse search with a very long baseline interferometry(VLBI) pulsar observation data set using both auto spectrum and cross spectrum search methods. The cross spectrum method,first proposed in Liu et al., maximizes the signal power by fully utilizing the fringe phase information of the baseline cross spectrum. The auto spectrum search method is based on the popular pulsar software package PRESTO, which extracts single pulses from the auto spectrum of each station. According to our comparison, the cross spectrum method is able to enhance the signal power and therefore extract single pulses from data contaminated by high levels of radio frequency interference(RFI), which makes it possible to carry out a search for FRBs in regular VLBI observations when RFI is present.

An X-Ray Study of Lobe-Dominated Radio-Loud Quasars with XMM-Newton

We report on our results of X-ray spectral analysis for a sample of radio-loud quasars covering a wide range of the radio core-dominance parameter, R, from core- dominated to lobe-dominated objects, using data obtained mostly with the XMM-Newton Observatory. We find that the spectral shape of the underlying power-law continuum is flat even for the lobe-dominated objects （average photon index ~ 1.5）, indistinguishable from that of core-dominated quasars. For lobe-dominated objects, contribution of X-rays from the jets is expected to be very small based on previous unification schemes, more than one order of magnitude lower than the observed X-ray luminosities. Assuming that radio-loud quasars follow the same X-ray-UV/optical luminosity relation for the disk-corona emission as found for radio-quiet quasars, we estimate the X-ray flux contributed by the disk-corona component from the optical/UV continuum. We find that neither the luminosity, nor the spectral shape, of the disk-corona X-ray emission can account for the bulk of the observed X-ray properties. Thus in lobe-dominated quasars, either the disk-corona X-ray emission is much enhanced in strength and flatter in spectral shape （photon index - 1.5） compared to normal radio-quiet quasars, or their jet X-ray emission is much enhanced compared to their weak radio core-jet emission. If the latter is the case, our result may imply that the jet emission in X-rays is less Doppler beamed than that in the radio. As a demonstrating example, we test this hypothesis by using a specific model in which the X-ray jet has a larger opening angle than the radio jet.

Modeling the redshift and energy distributions of fast radio bursts

Abstract Fast radio bursts （FRBs） are one of the most mysterious astronomical phenomena nowadays. The identification of their origin requires more observations in the future and, importantly, deep un- derstandings of the existing observational data. By fitting the redshift and energy distributions of 15 Parkes FRBs, we try to derive their intrinsic energy function and the cosmic evolution of their burst rates. Specifically, while the energy function is assumed as usual to have a single-power-law form, the burst rates are considered to be proportional to the cosmic star formation rates by a redshift-dependent coefficient. Some plausible fittings are obtained, which indicate the power-law assumptions are feasible and effective. The values of the power-law indices could be used to independently constrain candidate FRB models, although parameter degeneracies still exist.

Radio Emission from Globular Clusters

Radio emission of globular clusters is studied by analyzing the VLA radio survey data of the NVSS and FIRST. We find that 13 clusters have radio sources within their half-mass radii of clusters. Sources detected previously in NGC 7078 and NGC 6440 are identified. Pulsars in NGC 6121, NGC 6440 and NGC 7078 cannot be detected because of the insufficient survey sensitivity and resolution. There may be a pulsar in the core of Terzan 1. The nature of the extended radio source near the core of NGC 6440 remains unclear. In the core of a globular cluster, there may be many neutron stars or an intermediate mass black hole, but this cannot be clarified with the current radio observations.

Estimate of an environmental magnetic field of fast radio bursts

Fast radio bursts （FRBs） are a type of newly-discovered transient astronomical phenomenon. They have short durations, high dispersion measures and a high event rate. However, due to unknown dis- tances and undetected electromagnetic counterparts at other wavebands, it is difficult to further investigate FRBs. Here we propose a method to study their environmental magnetic field using an indirect method. Starting withdispersion measures and rotation measures （RMs）, we try to obtain the parallel magnetic field component ^-B ││ which is the average value along the line of sight in the host galaxy. Because both RMs and redshifls are now unavailable, we demonstrate the dependence of ^-B ││ on these two separate quantities. This result, if the RM and redshift of an FRB are measured, would be expected to provide a clue towards understanding an environmental magnetic field of an FRB.

A Composite Model for GHz Peaked Spectra of Radio Sources

GHz-Peaked Spectrum （GPS） radio sources are powerful and compact sources with convex spectra. With increasing observational findings, it has been realized that either Synchrotron Self-Absorption （SSA） alone or Free-Free Absorption （FFA） alone is not enough to account for all the spectral features. We present a model consisting of an SSA region partially covered by FFA plasma, and derive a composite spectral formula. By applying the model to a sample of 19 GPS sources having strong absorption, it is found that the external FFA process makes the SSA peak frequency linearly shift to a higher （observed） peak frequency. The shift indicates that the FFA does play a role at the frequency close to the observed peak frequency.

Radio observations of the first three-months of Fermi AGN at 4.8 GHz

Using the Urumqi 25 m radio telescope, sources from the first three months of the Fermi-large area telescope detected active galactic nuclei （AGN） catalog with a declination of 〉 0° were observed in 2009 at 4.8 GHz. The radio flux density ap- peared to correlate with the γ-ray intensity. Intra-day variability （IDV） observations were performed in March, April and May 2009 for 42 selected γ-ray bright blazars, and ~60% of them showed evidence of flux variability at 4.8 GHz during the IDV observations. The IDV detection rate was higher than that in previous flat-spectrum AGN samples. IDV appeared more often in the very long baseline interferometry-core dominant blazars, and the non-IDV blazars showed relatively ＂steeper＂ spectral in- dices than the IDV blazars. Pronounced inter-month variability was also found in two BL Lac objects： J0112＋2244 and J0238＋1636.

Correlated Radio-Optical Variations on Intraday Timescales

Correlated radio-optical variations on intraday timescales have been observed （e.g. in BLO 0716＋714） and such radio intraday variability is suggested to have an intrinsic origin. Recently, multi-wavelength observations, simultaneous at radio, mm-submm, optical and hard X-rays, of 0716＋714, show that during a period of intraday/interday variations at radio and mm wavelengths, the apparent brightness temperature of the source exceeded the Compton-limit （-10^12 K） by 2-4 orders of magnitude, but no Compton catastrophe （or no high luminosity of inverse-Compton radiation） was detected. It is also found that the intraday/interday variations at mm-submm wavelengths are consistent with the evolutionary behavior of a standard synchrotron source and for the intraday/interday variations at centimeter wavelengths opacity effects can play a significant role, which is consistent with the interpretation suggested previously by Qian et al. Thus the apparent high brightness temperatures may probably be explained in terms of Doppler boosting effects due to bulk relativistic motion of the source. We will argue a scenario to simulate the correlations between the radio and optical variations on intraday timescales observed in BLO 0716＋714 in terms of a relativistic shock propagating through a jet with a dual structure.

A Simulation of Calibration and Map-making Errors of the Tianlai Cylinder Pathfinder Array

The Tianlai cylinder array is a pathfinder for developing and testing 21 cm intensity mapping techniques.In this paper,we use numerical simulation to assess how its measurement is affected by thermal noise and the errors in calibration and map-making process,and the error in the sky map reconstructed from a drift scan survey.Here we consider only the single frequency,unpolarized case.The beam is modeled by fitting to the electromagnetic simulation of the antenna,and the variations of the complex gains of the array elements are modeled by Gaussian processes.Mock visibility data are generated and run through our data processing pipeline.We find that the accuracy of the current calibration is limited primarily by the absolute calibration,where the error comes mainly from the approximation of a single dominating point source.We then studied the m-mode map-making with the help of Moore-Penrose inverse.We find that discarding modes with singular values smaller than a threshold could generate visible artifacts in the map.The impacts of the residue variation of the complex gain and thermal noise are also investigated.The thermal noise in the map varies with latitude,being minimum at the latitude passing through the zenith of the telescope.The angular power spectrum of the reconstructed map show that the current Tianlai cylinder pathfinder,which has a shorter maximum baseline length in the North-South direction,can measure modes up to l■2πb_(NS)/λ~200 very well,but would lose a significant fraction of higher angular modes when noise is present.These results help us to identify the main limiting factors in our current array configuration and data analysis procedure,and suggest that the performance can be improved by reconfiguration of the array feed positions.