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Sub-second periodicity in a fast radio burst

Author

Listed:
  • Bridget C. Andersen

    (McGill University
    McGill University)

  • Kevin Bandura

    (West Virginia University
    West Virginia University)

  • Mohit Bhardwaj

    (McGill University
    McGill University)

  • P. J. Boyle

    (McGill University
    McGill University)

  • Charanjot Brar

    (McGill University
    McGill University)

  • Daniela Breitman

    (University of Toronto
    University of Toronto
    University of Toronto)

  • Tomas Cassanelli

    (University of Toronto
    University of Toronto)

  • Shami Chatterjee

    (Cornell University)

  • Pragya Chawla

    (McGill University
    McGill University)

  • Jean-François Cliche

    (McGill University
    McGill University)

  • Davor Cubranic

    (University of British Columbia)

  • Alice P. Curtin

    (McGill University
    McGill University)

  • Meiling Deng

    (Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
    National Research Council Canada)

  • Matt Dobbs

    (McGill University
    McGill University)

  • Fengqiu Adam Dong

    (University of British Columbia)

  • Emmanuel Fonseca

    (McGill University
    McGill University)

  • B. M. Gaensler

    (University of Toronto
    University of Toronto)

  • Utkarsh Giri

    (Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
    University of Waterloo)

  • Deborah C. Good

    (University of British Columbia)

  • Alex S. Hill

    (National Research Council Canada
    University of British Columbia)

  • Alexander Josephy

    (McGill University
    McGill University)

  • J. F. Kaczmarek

    (National Research Council Canada)

  • Zarif Kader

    (McGill University
    McGill University)

  • Joseph Kania

    (West Virginia University
    West Virginia University)

  • Victoria M. Kaspi

    (McGill University
    McGill University)

  • Calvin Leung

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • D. Z. Li

    (California Institute of Technology)

  • Hsiu-Hsien Lin

    (Academia Sinica
    Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics)

  • Kiyoshi W. Masui

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Ryan Mckinven

    (University of Toronto
    University of Toronto)

  • Juan Mena-Parra

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Marcus Merryfield

    (McGill University
    McGill University)

  • B. W. Meyers

    (University of British Columbia)

  • D. Michilli

    (McGill University
    McGill University
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Arun Naidu

    (McGill University
    McGill University)

  • Laura Newburgh

    (Yale University)

  • C. Ng

    (University of Toronto)

  • Anna Ordog

    (National Research Council Canada
    University of British Columbia)

  • Chitrang Patel

    (McGill University
    University of Toronto)

  • Aaron B. Pearlman

    (McGill University
    McGill University)

  • Ue-Li Pen

    (University of Toronto
    Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
    Academia Sinica
    Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics)

  • Emily Petroff

    (McGill University
    McGill University
    University of Amsterdam)

  • Ziggy Pleunis

    (McGill University
    McGill University
    University of Toronto)

  • Masoud Rafiei-Ravandi

    (Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
    University of Waterloo)

  • Mubdi Rahman

    (Sidrat Research)

  • Scott Ransom

    (Astronomy Observatory)

  • Andre Renard

    (University of Toronto)

  • Pranav Sanghavi

    (West Virginia University
    West Virginia University)

  • Paul Scholz

    (University of Toronto)

  • J. Richard Shaw

    (University of British Columbia)

  • Kaitlyn Shin

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Seth R. Siegel

    (McGill University
    McGill University)

  • Saurabh Singh

    (McGill University
    McGill University)

  • Kendrick Smith

    (Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics)

  • Ingrid Stairs

    (University of British Columbia)

  • Chia Min Tan

    (McGill University
    McGill University)

  • Shriharsh P. Tendulkar

    (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
    National Centre for Radio Astrophysics)

  • Keith Vanderlinde

    (University of Toronto
    University of Toronto)

  • D. V. Wiebe

    (University of British Columbia)

  • Dallas Wulf

    (McGill University
    McGill University)

  • Andrew Zwaniga

    (McGill University
    McGill University)

Abstract

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration flashes of radio waves that are visible at distances of billions of light years1. The nature of their progenitors and their emission mechanism remain open astrophysical questions2. Here we report the detection of the multicomponent FRB 20191221A and the identification of a periodic separation of 216.8(1) ms between its components, with a significance of 6.5σ. The long (roughly 3 s) duration and nine or more components forming the pulse profile make this source an outlier in the FRB population. Such short periodicity provides strong evidence for a neutron-star origin of the event. Moreover, our detection favours emission arising from the neutron-star magnetosphere3,4, as opposed to emission regions located further away from the star, as predicted by some models5.

Suggested Citation

  • Bridget C. Andersen & Kevin Bandura & Mohit Bhardwaj & P. J. Boyle & Charanjot Brar & Daniela Breitman & Tomas Cassanelli & Shami Chatterjee & Pragya Chawla & Jean-François Cliche & Davor Cubranic & A, 2022. "Sub-second periodicity in a fast radio burst," Nature, Nature, vol. 607(7918), pages 256-259, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:607:y:2022:i:7918:d:10.1038_s41586-022-04841-8
    DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04841-8
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