Fast radio bursts: recent discoveries and future prospects

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent progress in fast radio burst detection, discusses strategies for real-time discovery and follow-up, and explores future prospects with next-generation radio telescopes to understand their origins.

Contribution

It highlights recent real-time detection capabilities, proposes strategies for maximizing scientific returns, and discusses future directions with advanced radio telescopes.

Findings

Six FRBs detected in real-time at Parkes in the past two years

Development of strategies for polarisation and multi-wavelength follow-up

Preparation for next-generation FRB searches with wide-field interferometers

Abstract

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are quickly becoming a subject of intense interest in time-domain astronomy. The progenitors of FRBs remain unknown but a wide variety of models exist from cataclysmic to repeating scenarios. Advances in FRB detection using current and next-generation radio telescopes will enable the growth of the population in the next few years. Real-time discovery of FRBs is now possible with 6 sources detected in real-time within the past 2 years at the Parkes telescope. Here we discuss the developing strategies for maximising real-time science with FRBs including polarisation capture and multi-wavelength follow-up, with particular focus on real-time detections with the Parkes telescope as a test bed for fast radio burst science. We also discuss how our response to these events can pave the way for the next generation of FRB searches with wide-field interferometers.