What powers the persistent radio sources around some repeating FRBs? · revision history

Revision 2

Accepted · core change · record

Changes against revision 1:

Title
What powers the persistent radio sources around some repeating FRBs?
Plain
A few repeating FRB sources lie inside a compact, steady radio glow and very strongly magnetized gas, which could be a nebula inflated by a young magnetar or the outflow of an accreting black hole.
Precise · changed · core
Revision 1: FRB 20121102A and FRB 20190520B are co-located with compact persistent radio sources (spectral luminosity $\sim 1e29\,\mathrm{erg}\,\mathrm{s}^{-1}\,\mathrm{Hz}^{-1}$, size below $\sim 1\,\mathrm{pc}$) and show rotation measures up to $\sim 1e5\,\mathrm{rad}\,\mathrm{m}^{-2}$ that change by tens of percent over years. Determine whether these sources are magnetar wind nebulae, nebulae inflated by hyper-accreting compact binaries, or accreting intermediate-mass or massive black holes, and test the predicted relation between persistent-source luminosity and $\mid \mathrm{RM} \mid$. Answer: an identification whose predicted decline of persistent flux and RM over decades matches monitoring.
Revision 2: FRB 20121102A and FRB 20190520B are co-located with compact persistent radio sources (spectral luminosity $\sim 10^{29}\,\mathrm{erg}\,\mathrm{s}^{-1}\,\mathrm{Hz}^{-1}$, size below $\sim 1\,\mathrm{pc}$) and show rotation measures up to $\sim 10^{5}\,\mathrm{rad}\,\mathrm{m}^{-2}$ that change by tens of percent over years. Determine whether these sources are magnetar wind nebulae, nebulae inflated by hyper-accreting compact binaries, or accreting intermediate-mass or massive black holes, and test the predicted relation between persistent-source luminosity and $\mid \mathrm{RM} \mid$. Answer: an identification whose predicted decline of persistent flux and RM over decades matches monitoring.
Settled by
Decade-long monitoring of persistent-source flux, size and RM for several repeaters, compared with the evolution predicted by each model.
Kind
phenomenon
Answer type
identification
References
(empty)
Literature status
open
Status note
2024: a persistent radio source was reported for FRB 20201124A, a third repeater with this feature.
Posed since
2017

Decisions