Probing the Circumgalactic Medium of Galaxies using FRBs

Fast radio bursts (FRBs), as the name suggests, are fast, energetic phenomenon that may be used to probe the optical depth of circumgalactic medium (CGM). The CGM is the plasma which surrounds a galaxy and the optical depth is simply how much matter is surrounding a given galaxy. Using FRBs to probe this information is a novel method and may be especially useful to galaxy astronomers once FRBs are more freely collected.

Currently, we are re-deriving the results from the original paper upon which this research is based. The current analysis agrees with the original paper which is a good sign to continue. The next phase will be to derive results for the CGM’s turbulence based on the FRBs.