Magnetic field reversal in the turbulent environment around a repeating fast radio burst

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are brief, intense flashes of radio waves from unidentified extragalactic sources. Polarized FRBs originate in highly magnetized environments. We report observations of the repeating FRB 20190520B spanning 17 months, which show that the FRB's Faraday rotation is highly variable and twice changes sign. The FRB also depolarizes below radio frequencies of about 1 to 3 gigahertz. We interpret these properties as being due to changes in the parallel component of the magnetic field integrated along the line of sight, including reversing direction of the field. This could result from propagation through a turbulent magnetized screen of plasma, located 10-5 to 100 parsecs from the FRB source. This is consistent with the bursts passing through the stellar wind of a binary companion of the FRB source.

Automated summary

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are intense flashes of radio waves from unidentified extragalactic sources. They can be polarized and show variable Faraday rotation, indicating changes in the magnetic field along the line of sight. These changes could be due to propagation through a turbulent magnetized screen or the stellar wind of a companion star.