Room 522, 5/F, Chong Yuet Ming Physics Building, The University of Hong Kong
July 20, 2026 (Monday)
10:00 am – 11:00 am
The site and emission mechanism of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) is still an open problem. Recent theoretical work indicates that the strong electromagnetic waves of Fast Radio Bursts must be absorbed due to induced stochastic acceleration of particles if they are emitted in the magnetised plasma in the inner magnetosphere of a magnetar.
Paradoxically, observations of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) display ultra-short timescales, with bursts as short as 4 microseconds, and intra-burst variability occurring at 1-2 orders of magnitude shorter timescales yet. These timescales are more easily explained by models with emission occurring closer to the central engine. This contradiction is the paradox that underlies FRB emission.
In my talk I will discuss that stochastic acceleration is a robust process, show the conditions under which it can or cannot occur using simulations, and discuss the underlying assumptions in detail.
Ethan van Woerkom is a Doctoral Researcher at the University of Helsinki. His work concentrates on understanding the physics of Fast Radio Bursts: their energy source, emission process and escape. His work combines theoretical and computational methods from plasma physics to understand problems in astrophysics. He graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Mathematical Physics from the University of Edinburgh in 2020. He completed his Master’s thesis at the University of Amsterdam on the topic of modelling the long-term (1-100 yrs) radio afterglow of the ejecta-ISM interaction from binary neutron star mergers.
Anyone interested is welcome to attend in person or via Zoom:
https://hku.zoom.us/j/96472971072?pwd=uoTCtn45823IaLEyIkyrQvvZPjyt0C.1
Meeting ID: 964 7297 1072 Password: 410133