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Hunting FRBs at high energy with AGILE
**Introduction:**
What are Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs)? These millisecond bursts from distant galaxies have astrophysicists intrigued. We explore repeating FRBs (R-FRBs) and theories about their origins, including magnetars.
**AGILE's High-Energy Hunt:**
The Italian AGILE satellite, with its SuperAGILE (18-60 keV), MCAL (0.35-100 MeV), and GRID (0.03-50 GeV) detectors, searched for X- and gamma-ray counterparts to a sample of R-FRBs.
**The Search and Non-Detection:**
AGILE observed several bursts from R-FRBs with low dispersion measure (DMexc < 300 pc cm−3). However, no astrophysical signals were identified in the X- and gamma-ray bands.
**Upper Limits and Magnetar Models:**
The study derived upper limits on the flux, particularly with MCAL, which are now the most stringent in the 0.4-30 MeV range. Researchers compared these findings to the galactic magnetar SGR 1935+2154 (the source of FRB 200428) to test magnetar emission models for FRBs.
**Key Findings:**
* **No high-energy counterparts were detected by AGILE for the observed R-FRB sample**.
* **Stringent upper limits were placed on high-energy emission**, especially by MCAL.
* The study compared R-FRB energies with those extrapolated from **SGR 1935+2154**, providing constraints on the magnetar model.
**Conclusion:**
While AGILE didn't detect high-energy counterparts for this R-FRB sample, its observations provide valuable constraints for theoretical models, especially those involving magnetars. The archival AGILE data still holds potential for future discoveries.
**Reference:**
Casentini, C., Verrecchia, F., Tavani, M., Pilia, M., & Pacciani, L. (2025). AGILE observations of a sample of repeating Fast Radio Burst sources. *Draft version March 13, 2025*.
Acknowledements: Podcast prepared with Google/NotebookLM. Illustration credits: AGILE collaboration
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By Astro-COLIBRI**Introduction:**
What are Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs)? These millisecond bursts from distant galaxies have astrophysicists intrigued. We explore repeating FRBs (R-FRBs) and theories about their origins, including magnetars.
**AGILE's High-Energy Hunt:**
The Italian AGILE satellite, with its SuperAGILE (18-60 keV), MCAL (0.35-100 MeV), and GRID (0.03-50 GeV) detectors, searched for X- and gamma-ray counterparts to a sample of R-FRBs.
**The Search and Non-Detection:**
AGILE observed several bursts from R-FRBs with low dispersion measure (DMexc < 300 pc cm−3). However, no astrophysical signals were identified in the X- and gamma-ray bands.
**Upper Limits and Magnetar Models:**
The study derived upper limits on the flux, particularly with MCAL, which are now the most stringent in the 0.4-30 MeV range. Researchers compared these findings to the galactic magnetar SGR 1935+2154 (the source of FRB 200428) to test magnetar emission models for FRBs.
**Key Findings:**
* **No high-energy counterparts were detected by AGILE for the observed R-FRB sample**.
* **Stringent upper limits were placed on high-energy emission**, especially by MCAL.
* The study compared R-FRB energies with those extrapolated from **SGR 1935+2154**, providing constraints on the magnetar model.
**Conclusion:**
While AGILE didn't detect high-energy counterparts for this R-FRB sample, its observations provide valuable constraints for theoretical models, especially those involving magnetars. The archival AGILE data still holds potential for future discoveries.
**Reference:**
Casentini, C., Verrecchia, F., Tavani, M., Pilia, M., & Pacciani, L. (2025). AGILE observations of a sample of repeating Fast Radio Burst sources. *Draft version March 13, 2025*.
Acknowledements: Podcast prepared with Google/NotebookLM. Illustration credits: AGILE collaboration