Model-dependent Estimate on the Connection between Fast Radio Bursts and Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays
Abstract
The existence of fast radio bursts (FRBs), a new type of extragalatic transient, has recently been established, and quite a few models have been proposed. In this work, we discuss the possible connection between the FRB sources and ultra high energy (>1018 eV) cosmic rays. We show that in the blitzar model and the model of merging binary neutron stars, which includes the huge energy release of each FRB central engine together with the rather high rate of FRBs, the accelerated EeV cosmic rays may contribute significantly to the observed ones. In other FRB models, including, for example, the merger of double white dwarfs and the energetic magnetar radio flares, no significant EeV cosmic ray is expected. We also suggest that the mergers of double neutron stars, even if they are irrelevant to FRBs, may play a nonignorable role in producing EeV cosmic ray protons if supramassive neutron stars are formed in a sufficient fraction of mergers and the merger rate is >~ 103 yr-1 Gpc-3. Such a possibility will be unambiguously tested in the era of gravitational wave astronomy.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- December 2014
- DOI:
- 10.1088/0004-637X/797/1/33
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1312.5637
- Bibcode:
- 2014ApJ...797...33L
- Keywords:
-
- acceleration of particles;
- cosmic rays;
- radio continuum: general;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
- E-Print:
- Fig.1 is added to show the possibility distribution, as a function of maximal gravitational mass, of forming supramassive neutron stars in the double neutron star mergers. Major conclusions are unchanged