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SUMMARY:Fast Radio Bursts - Ben Stappers (Manchester)
DTSTART:20180503T150000Z
DTEND:20180503T160000Z
UID:TALK104482@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:28811
DESCRIPTION:In 2007 a very bright burst of radio\nemission which lasted ju
 st a few milliseconds was discovered which\noriginated far outside\nof our
  own galaxy. The extreme brightness and the very short duration\nindicate 
 that the source must be highly energetic and mostly likely\nassociated\nwi
 th a black hole or neutron star. Another possibility is that they are\ncau
 sed by some cataclysmic event\, like the collapse of a neutron star to\nfo
 rm a black hole or the merger of two neutron stars. As these bursts\nare o
 ccurring at extragalactic distances they are potentially great probes\nof 
 the material and space between us and their origin. There are now \nmore t
 han 50 of these bursts known and the race is on to find many more\nwith ne
 w and existing telescopes around the world. I will discuss some of\nthe hi
 story of FRBs\, our current understanding\, and look forward to the\nfutur
 e.\nThis will include a discussion of MeerTRAP the commensal program to se
 arch\nand precisely localise FRBs with the MeerKAT telescope.
LOCATION:Sackler Lecture Theatre\, IoA (tea at 3:30 pm)
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