A Unified Model for Repeating and Non-repeating Fast Radio Bursts

Abstract

The model that fast radio bursts are caused by plunges of asteroids onto neutron stars can explain both repetitive and non-repetitive bursts. If a neutron star passes through an asteroid belt around another star, there would be a series of bursts caused by series of asteroid impacts. Moreover, the neutron star would cross the same belt repetitively if it is in a binary with the star hosting the asteroid belt, leading to a repeated series of bursts. I explore the properties of neutron star binaries which could lead to the only known repetitive fast radio burst so far (FRB121102). In this model, the next two epochs of bursts are expected around 27-February-2017 and 18-December-2017. On the other hand, if the asteroid belt is located around the neutron star itself, then a chance fall of an asteroid from that belt onto the neutron star would lead to a non-repetitive burst. Even a neutron star grazing an asteroid belt can lead to a non-repetitive burst caused by just one asteroid plunge during the grazing. This is possible even when the neutron star is in a binary with the asteroid hosting star, if the belt and the neutron star orbit are non-coplanar.

6 pages

References in corpus (9)

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Cited by in corpus (14)

• A Living Theory Catalogue for Fast Radio Bursts
• A bimodal burst energy distribution of a repeating fast radio burst source
• The Physics of Fast Radio Bursts
• Repeating behaviour of FRB 121102: periodicity, waiting times and energy distribution
• Fast Radio Bursts
• Periodic Fast Radio Bursts as a Probe of Extragalactic Asteroid Belts
• Investigation of the asteroid-neutron star collision model for the repeating fast radio bursts
• Collapsing supra-massive magnetars: FRBs, the repeating FRB121102 and GRBs
• Repeating fast radio bursts caused by small bodies orbiting a pulsar or a magnetar
• A Model of Fast Radio Bursts: Collisions Between Episodic Magnetic Blobs
• Constraining Parameters in Pulsar Models of Repeating FRB 121102 with High-Energy Follow-up Observations
• Periodic activity from fast radio burst FRB180916 explained in the frameof the orbiting asteroid model
• A Possible Subclassification of Fast Radio Bursts
• Geometrical envelopes of fast radio bursts