The Persistent Radio Sources and Multi-wavelength Counterparts of Fast Radio Bursts in Massive Binary Systems

arXiv:2603.23144 · astro-ph.HE, astro-ph.SR · Submitted 2026-03-24 · Read on arXiv

astro-ph.HE, astro-ph.SR

Submitted: 2026-03-24

Updated: 2026-09-02

Comments: 40 pages, 13 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The gist: Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration pulses originating from cosmological distances.

Terminology

Abstract

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration pulses originating from cosmological distances. Multi-wavelength counterparts associated with FRBs are important for unveiling their physical origins. Recent observations provide strong evidence that the sources of some active FRBs are residing in massive star binaries. In this paper, we study the electromagnetic counterparts of FRBs, including persistent radio sources (PRSs) and multi-wavelength emission from magnetar wind nebulae (MWNe) or bow shocks in massive binary systems. We find that the PRSs with luminosity 10 38-10 39 erg s-1 can be generated by young MWN. The age of magnetars is a few decades. The observed long-term variation of flux density for PRSs can be explained by the internal magnetic field decay of magnetars. The bow shock radiation can account for the less luminous PRS with the luminosity 10 36 erg s-1. Magnetically powered nebulae may yield detectable keV synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) X-rays out to 20 Mpc, whereas rotation-powered systems mainly produce GeV SSC emission detectable only within 0.1 Mpc. For active magnetars in massive binaries, enhanced wind interaction can generate synchrotron X-rays detectable within 50 Mpc and GeV-TeV inverse-Compton emission detectable within 1-0.1 Mpc.

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