Science on Tap: Fast Radio Bursts: New Transient Mysteries and How We Understand Them

Supernovae! Neutron Star Mergers! What do these have in common? They are what’s known as…transients! Short, dramatic, energetic, events that occur on human timescales. Many things in the Universe take millions or billions of years to change and evolve. Transients, however, can change over seconds or years, and illuminate deep mysteries of physics unknown. One such mystery lies in the study of a transient class called Fast Radio Bursts. Discovered a decade ago, these luminous milli-second-long bursts are an unprecedented phenomena - calling into question our current understanding of stellar physics. Alexandra is dedicated to studying the galaxies these mystifying events originate in to better understand their physical origins and connections to stellar evolution. Come learn about these very special astrophysical transients with Alexandra (UC Santa Cruz).