{
  "id": "1801.03965",
  "version": "v1",
  "published": "2018-01-11T19:50:20.000Z",
  "updated": "2018-01-11T19:50:20.000Z",
  "title": "An extreme magneto-ionic environment associated with the fast radio burst source FRB 121102",
  "authors": [
    "D. Michilli",
    "A. Seymour",
    "J. W. T. Hessels",
    "L. G. Spitler",
    "V. Gajjar",
    "A. M. Archibald",
    "G. C. Bower",
    "S. Chatterjee",
    "J. M. Cordes",
    "K. Gourdji",
    "G. H. Heald",
    "V. M. Kaspi",
    "C. J. Law",
    "C. Sobey",
    "E. A. K. Adams",
    "C. G. Bassa",
    "S. Bogdanov",
    "C. Brinkman",
    "P. Demorest",
    "F. Fernandez",
    "G. Hellbourg",
    "T. J. W. Lazio",
    "R. S. Lynch",
    "N. Maddox",
    "B. Marcote",
    "M. A. McLaughlin",
    "Z. Paragi",
    "S. M. Ransom",
    "P. Scholz",
    "A. P. V. Siemion",
    "S. P. Tendulkar",
    "P. Van Rooy",
    "R. S. Wharton",
    "D. Whitlow"
  ],
  "comment": "Published in Nature: DOI: 10.1038/nature25149",
  "categories": [
    "astro-ph.HE"
  ],
  "abstract": "Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration, extragalactic radio flashes of unknown physical origin. FRB 121102, the only known repeating FRB source, has been localized to a star-forming region in a dwarf galaxy at redshift z = 0.193, and is spatially coincident with a compact, persistent radio source. The origin of the bursts, the nature of the persistent source, and the properties of the local environment are still debated. Here we present bursts that show ~100% linearly polarized emission at a very high and variable Faraday rotation measure in the source frame: RM_src = +1.46 x 10^5 rad m^-2 and +1.33 x 10^5 rad m^-2 at epochs separated by 7 months, in addition to narrow (< 30 mus) temporal structure. The large and variable rotation measure demonstrates that FRB 121102 is in an extreme and dynamic magneto-ionic environment, while the short burst durations argue for a neutron star origin. Such large rotation measures have, until now, only been observed in the vicinities of massive black holes (M_BH > 10^4 MSun). Indeed, the properties of the persistent radio source are compatible with those of a low-luminosity, accreting massive black hole. The bursts may thus come from a neutron star in such an environment. However, the observed properties may also be explainable in other models, such as a highly magnetized wind nebula or supernova remnant surrounding a young neutron star.",
  "revisions": [
    {
      "version": "v1",
      "updated": "2018-01-11T19:50:20.000Z"
    }
  ],
  "analyses": {
    "keywords": [
      "fast radio burst source frb",
      "extreme magneto-ionic environment",
      "persistent radio source",
      "neutron star"
    ],
    "note": {
      "typesetting": "TeX",
      "pages": 0,
      "language": "en",
      "license": "arXiv",
      "status": "editable"
    }
  }
}