We propose to observe the repeating fast radio burst FRB 121102 using the Integral satellite and the Arecibo, Effelsberg and Nancay radio telescopes in order to search for a high energy emission simultaneously with radio measurements and to look for a possible afterglow. Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are bright flashes of radio waves that last only a few thousandths of a second whose origin is currently unknown. Initially thought to come from a cataclysmic and unique event, the recent detection of repeating bursts from FRB 121102 at a frequency of 3 bursts/hour indicate that they may originate from different types of progenitors. Giant flares from magnetars or giant radio pulses from pulsars are possible sources of the FRBs. In such detecting a high energy signal (burst and/or afterglow) from FRB 121102 will help to define the class of the object responsible of this huge energetic event and to better characterize the physics at work in such astronomical system. The timing capabilities of the X and gamma-rays instruments on board the Integral satellite (better that 100 microseconds for JEM-X, IBIS and SPI - SPI/ACS with 50 msec time resolution not being r^ant at least for the burst detection -) combined with the exquisite timing resolution supplied by the Nancay Radio telescope and other major radio facilities in the world, as Arecibo and Effelsberg, will be, even if presently submitted as an exploratory programme, the first step to study in the high energy range this new and promising new class of astronomical objects.
Publications
Background modelling for I3-ray spectroscopy with INTEGRAL/SPI - Siegert, Thomas, Diehl, Roland,Weinberger, Christoph,Pleintinger, Moritz M. M.,Greiner, Jochen,Zhang, Xiaoling (2019-06-01) http://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/#abs/2019A&A...626A..73S
Gamma-Ray Emission of 60Fe and 26Al Radioactivity in Our Galaxy - Wang, W., Siegert, T.,Dai, Z. G.,Diehl, R.,Greiner, J.,Heger, A.,Krause, M.,Lang, M.,Pleintinger, M. M. M.,Zhang, X. L. (2020-02-01) http://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/#abs/2020ApJ...889..169W
Multiwavelength observation of 1A 0535+262=HD 245770 from 2010 to 2021 - Liu, Wei, Yan, Jingzhi,Xiao, Guangcheng,Li, Xiukun,Gao, Bo,Liu, Qingzhong (2024-01-01) http://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/#abs/2024A&A...681A..10L
Repeating behaviour of FRB 121102: periodicity, waiting times, and energy distribution - Cruces, M., Spitler, L. G.,Scholz, P.,Lynch, R.,Seymour, A.,Hessels, J. W. T.,Gouiffes, C.,Hilmarsson, G. H.,Kramer, M.,Munjal, S. (2021-01-01) http://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/#abs/2021MNRAS.500..448C
26Al gamma rays from the Galaxy with INTEGRAL/SPI - Pleintinger, Moritz M. M., Diehl, Roland,Siegert, Thomas,Greiner, Jochen,Krause, Martin G. H. (2023-04-01) http://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/#abs/2023A&A...672A..53P
Temporal Coverage
2017-09-24T12:23:37Z / 2017-09-29T08:17:41Z
Version
1.0
Mission Description
The INTEGRAL (International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory) mission, launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) on October 17, 2002, was designed to study high-energy phenomena in the universe. INTEGRAL was operating until february 2025 and it was equipped with three high-energy instruments: the Imager on Board the INTEGRAL Satellite (IBIS), the Spectrometer on INTEGRAL (SPI), and the JEM-X (Joint European Monitor for X-rays). Its Optical Monitoring Camera (OMC) provided optical V-band magnitude measurements, complementing the high-energy observations.
European Space Agency, Gouiffes, 2026, 'Joint radio and INTEGRAL observations of the repeating fast radio burst FRB 121102', 1.0, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.57780/esa-lhf03nc
