Fast radio bursts and electromagnetic transition radiation on gravitational shockwaves

Abstract

When a gravitational shockwave hits a magnetar it creates perturbations of the magnetar magnetic field in a form of a transition radiation. We argue that this radiation can be a novel candidate to explain the origin of fast radio bursts (FRB). A unique feature of the transition radiation on the shockwaves is that normal components of its Maxwell strength `remember' only the spatial `profile' of the shock, not the form of the signal. This fact allows us to determine completely a characteristic initial problem for the perturbations with Cauchy data defined on a null hypersurface just behind the shockwave front. The computations are carried by modeling magnetar as a magnetic dipole. As an illustration we consider shockwaves created by ultrarelativistic objects of two types, by compact sources or by cosmic strings. In the both cases the duration of the engine pulse is determined by an impact distance between the magnetar and the source. We present the angular distribution of the transition radiation flux and show that it is consistent with properties of the FRB engine.