Local Circumnuclear Magnetar Solution to Extragalactic Fast Radio Bursts

TL;DR

This paper proposes that magnetars near galactic nuclei could be the source of extragalactic Fast Radio Bursts, supported by environmental modeling and known magnetar properties, and suggests observational tests for this hypothesis.

Contribution

It introduces a novel local magnetar model for FRBs originating near galaxy centers, linking known galactic magnetar properties to observed FRB characteristics.

Findings

Galactic center magnetars can produce FRB-like signals.

Environmental DM near galactic nuclei explains high dispersion measures.

Testable predictions made for VLBI and large survey observations.

Abstract

We synthesize the known information about Fast Radio Bursts and radio magnetars, and describe an allowed origin near nuclei of external, but non-cosmological, galaxies. This places them at $z\ll1$, within a few hundred megaparsecs. In this scenario, the high DM is dominated by the environment of the FRB, modelled on the known properties of the Milky Way Center, whose innermost 100pc provides 1000 pc/cm$^3$. A radio loud magnetar is known to exist in our galactic center, within $\sim$2 arc seconds of Sgr A*. Based on the polarization, DM, and scattering properties of this known magnetar, we extrapolate its properties to those of Crab-like giant pulses and SGR flares and point out their consistency with observed Fast Radio Bursts. We conclude galactic center magnetars could be the source of FRB's. This scenario is readily testable with VLBI measurements as well as with flux count statistics from large surveys such as CHIME or UTMOST.