The low density and magnetization of a massive galaxy halo exposed by a fast radio burst

J. Xavier Prochaska; Jean-Pierre Macquart; Matthew McQuinn; Sunil Simha; Ryan M. Shannon; Cherie K. Day; Lachlan Marnoch; Stuart Ryder; Adam Deller; Keith W. Bannister; Shivani Bhandari; Rongmon Bordoloi; John Bunton; Hyerin Cho; Chris Flynn; Elizabeth K. Mahony; Chris Phillips; Hao Qiu; Nicolas Tejos

doi:10.1126/science.aay0073

The low density and magnetization of a massive galaxy halo exposed by a fast radio burst

J. Xavier Prochaska^*, Jean-Pierre Macquart, Matthew McQuinn, Sunil Simha, Ryan M. Shannon, Cherie K. Day, Lachlan Marnoch, Stuart Ryder, Adam Deller, Keith W. Bannister, Shivani Bhandari, Rongmon Bordoloi, John Bunton, Hyerin Cho, Chris Flynn, Elizabeth K. Mahony, Chris Phillips, Hao Qiu, Nicolas Tejos

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Physics and Astronomy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

76 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Present-day galaxies are surrounded by cool and enriched halo gas extending for hundreds of kiloparsecs. This halo gas is thought to be the dominant reservoir of material available to fuel future star formation, but direct constraints on its mass and physical properties have been difficult to obtain. We report the detection of a fast radio burst (FRB 181112), localized with arcsecond precision, that passes through the halo of a foreground galaxy. Analysis of the burst shows that the halo gas has low net magnetization and turbulence. Our results imply predominantly diffuse gas in massive galactic halos, even those hosting active supermassive black holes, contrary to some previous results.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	231-234
Number of pages	4
Journal	Science
Volume	366
Issue number	6462
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aay0073
Publication status	Published - 11 Oct 2019

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Prochaska, J. Xavier ; Macquart, Jean-Pierre ; McQuinn, Matthew ; Simha, Sunil ; Shannon, Ryan M. ; Day, Cherie K. ; Marnoch, Lachlan ; Ryder, Stuart ; Deller, Adam ; Bannister, Keith W. ; Bhandari, Shivani ; Bordoloi, Rongmon ; Bunton, John ; Cho, Hyerin ; Flynn, Chris ; Mahony, Elizabeth K. ; Phillips, Chris ; Qiu, Hao ; Tejos, Nicolas. / The low density and magnetization of a massive galaxy halo exposed by a fast radio burst. In: Science. 2019 ; Vol. 366, No. 6462. pp. 231-234.

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title = "The low density and magnetization of a massive galaxy halo exposed by a fast radio burst",

abstract = "Present-day galaxies are surrounded by cool and enriched halo gas extending for hundreds of kiloparsecs. This halo gas is thought to be the dominant reservoir of material available to fuel future star formation, but direct constraints on its mass and physical properties have been difficult to obtain. We report the detection of a fast radio burst (FRB 181112), localized with arcsecond precision, that passes through the halo of a foreground galaxy. Analysis of the burst shows that the halo gas has low net magnetization and turbulence. Our results imply predominantly diffuse gas in massive galactic halos, even those hosting active supermassive black holes, contrary to some previous results.",

author = "Prochaska, {J. Xavier} and Jean-Pierre Macquart and Matthew McQuinn and Sunil Simha and Shannon, {Ryan M.} and Day, {Cherie K.} and Lachlan Marnoch and Stuart Ryder and Adam Deller and Bannister, {Keith W.} and Shivani Bhandari and Rongmon Bordoloi and John Bunton and Hyerin Cho and Chris Flynn and Mahony, {Elizabeth K.} and Chris Phillips and Hao Qiu and Nicolas Tejos",

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Prochaska, JX, Macquart, J-P, McQuinn, M, Simha, S, Shannon, RM, Day, CK, Marnoch, L , Ryder, S, Deller, A, Bannister, KW, Bhandari, S, Bordoloi, R, Bunton, J, Cho, H, Flynn, C, Mahony, EK, Phillips, C, Qiu, H & Tejos, N 2019, 'The low density and magnetization of a massive galaxy halo exposed by a fast radio burst', Science, vol. 366, no. 6462, pp. 231-234. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aay0073

The low density and magnetization of a massive galaxy halo exposed by a fast radio burst. / Prochaska, J. Xavier; Macquart, Jean-Pierre; McQuinn, Matthew; Simha, Sunil; Shannon, Ryan M.; Day, Cherie K.; Marnoch, Lachlan ; Ryder, Stuart; Deller, Adam; Bannister, Keith W.; Bhandari, Shivani; Bordoloi, Rongmon; Bunton, John; Cho, Hyerin; Flynn, Chris; Mahony, Elizabeth K.; Phillips, Chris; Qiu, Hao; Tejos, Nicolas.

In: Science, Vol. 366, No. 6462, 11.10.2019, p. 231-234.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

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T1 - The low density and magnetization of a massive galaxy halo exposed by a fast radio burst

AU - Prochaska, J. Xavier

AU - Macquart, Jean-Pierre

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AU - Simha, Sunil

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AU - Day, Cherie K.

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AU - Ryder, Stuart

AU - Deller, Adam

AU - Bannister, Keith W.

AU - Bhandari, Shivani

AU - Bordoloi, Rongmon

AU - Bunton, John

AU - Cho, Hyerin

AU - Flynn, Chris

AU - Mahony, Elizabeth K.

AU - Phillips, Chris

AU - Qiu, Hao

AU - Tejos, Nicolas

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