Multi-dimensional population modelling using frbpoppy: magnetars can produce the observed Fast Radio Burst sky

Understand

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are energetic, short, bright transients that occur frequently over the entire radio sky.

• The observational challenges following from their fleeting, generally one-off nature have prevented identification of the underlying sources producing the bursts.
• As the population of detected FRBs grows, the observed distributions of brightness, pulse width and dispersion measure now begin to take shape.
• Meaningful direct interpretation of these distributions is, however, made impossible by the selection effects that telescope and search pipelines invariably imprint on each FRB survey.