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The dispersive sweep of fast radio bursts (FRBs) has been used to probe the ionized baryon content of the intergalactic medium 1 , which is assumed to dominate the total extragalactic dispersion. Although the host-galaxy contributions to the dispersion measure appear to be small for most FRBs 2 , in at least one case there is evidence for an extreme magneto-ionic local environment 3 , 4 and a compact persistent radio source 5 . Here we report the detection and localization of the repeating FRB 20190520B, which is co-located with a compact, persistent radio source and associated with a dwarf host galaxy of high specific-star-formation rate at a redshift of 0.241 ± 0.001. The estimated host-galaxy dispersion measure of approximately 903 − 111 + 72 parsecs per cubic centimetre, which is nearly an order of magnitude higher than the average of FRB host galaxies 2 , 6 , far exceeds the dispersion-measure contribution of the intergalactic medium. Caution is thus warranted in inferring redshifts for FRBs without accurate host-galaxy identifications. A repeating fast radio burst co-located with a persistent radio source and associated with a dwarf host galaxy of a high star-formation rate has been detected.

Magnetic fields have an important role in the evolution of interstellar medium and star formation 1 , 2 . As the only direct probe of interstellar field strength, credible Zeeman measurements remain sparse owing to the lack of suitable Zeeman probes, particularly for cold, molecular gas 3 . Here we report the detection of a magnetic field of +3.8 ± 0.3 microgauss through the H  I narrow self-absorption (HINSA) 4 , 5 towards L1544 6 , 7 —a well-studied prototypical prestellar core in an early transition between starless and protostellar phases 8 – 10 characterized by a high central number density 11 and a low central temperature 12 . A combined analysis of the Zeeman measurements of quasar H  I absorption, H  I emission, OH emission and HINSA reveals a coherent magnetic field from the atomic cold neutral medium (CNM) to the molecular envelope. The molecular envelope traced by the HINSA is found to be magnetically supercritical, with a field strength comparable to that of the surrounding diffuse, magnetically subcritical CNM despite a large increase in density. The reduction of the magnetic flux relative to the mass, which is necessary for star formation, thus seems to have already happened during the transition from the diffuse CNM to the molecular gas traced by the HINSA. This is earlier than envisioned in the classical picture where magnetically supercritical cores capable of collapsing into stars form out of magnetically subcritical envelopes 13 , 14 . An analysis of Zeeman measurements reveals that the reduction of magnetic flux relative to mass, which is necessary for star formation, seems to have occurred earlier than previously thought.

The event rate, energy distribution and time-domain behaviour of repeating fast radio bursts (FRBs) contain essential information regarding their physical nature and central engine, which are as yet unknown 1 , 2 . As the first precisely localized source, FRB 121102 (refs. 3 – 5 ) has been extensively observed and shows non-Poisson clustering of bursts over time and a power-law energy distribution 6 – 8 . However, the extent of the energy distribution towards the fainter end was not known. Here we report the detection of 1,652 independent bursts with a peak burst rate of 122 h −1 , in 59.5 hours spanning 47 days. A peak in the isotropic equivalent energy distribution is found to be approximately 4.8 × 10 37 erg at 1.25 GHz, below which the detection of bursts is suppressed. The burst energy distribution is bimodal, and well characterized by a combination of a log-normal function and a generalized Cauchy function. The large number of bursts in hour-long spans allows sensitive periodicity searches between 1 ms and 1,000 s. The non-detection of any periodicity or quasi-periodicity poses challenges for models involving a single rotating compact object. The high burst rate also implies that FRBs must be generated with a high radiative efficiency, disfavouring emission mechanisms with large energy requirements or contrived triggering conditions. For FRB 121102, 1,652 burst events are detected over 47 days, with a peak burst rate of 122 per hour, a bimodal burst rate energy distribution, and no periodicity or quasi-periodicity.

Microwave dielectric ceramics based on geikielite-type MgTiO 3 were prepared by an aqueous sol–gel process. The precursor powders and dielectric ceramics were characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and microwave methods. Highly reactive nanosized magnesium titanate powders with particle sizes of 20 nm to 40 nm were successfully obtained at 500°C as precursors. Sintering characteristics and microwave dielectric properties of MgTiO 3 ceramics were studied as a function of sintering temperature from 1100°C to 1300°C. With increasing sintering temperature, the density, ε r , and Qf values increased, saturating at 1200°C with excellent microwave properties of ε r  = 17.5, Qf  = 156,300 GHz, and τ f  = −44 ppm/°C. Correlations between the microstructure and dielectric properties of MgTiO 3 ceramics were also investigated.

We report the detection of a glitch event in the Vela pulsar, which occurred on 12 December 2016, based on the timing data obtained from observations between January 2016 and February 2018 at frequency centered at 2256 MHz using the Kunming 40-m radio telescope. The timing solutions for the pre- and post-glitch are presented. By fitting the glitch model to the timing data, we found that the post-glitch recovery exhibits two terms with exponential decay with the time scales of 1 d and 6 d, respectively. The glitch parameters are determined with Δνg/ν=1.431(2)×10−6\\(\\Delta \\nu _{\\mathrm{g}}/\\nu =1.431(2)\\times 10^{-6}\\) and Δν˙g/ν˙=73.354×10−3\\(\\Delta \\dot{\\nu }_{\\mathrm{g}}/\\dot{\\nu }=73.354\\times 10^{-3}\\). The value of the coupling parameter is calculated to be ∼0.08, implying that the core superfluid is probably not involved in this event. For the glitches with two or more terms with exponential decay in the Vela pulsar, we show that the exponential decays usually exhibit longer time scales with higher degree of glitch recovery. The post-glitch behavior in the slow-down rate |ν˙|\\(|\\dot{\\nu }|\\) is dominated by a linear decrease process. From detection of the variations in the slopes of the spin-down rates after the exponential recoveries of the 2013 and 2016 glitches, we conclude that no persistent shift was involved in the 2016 glitches.

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are highly dispersed, millisecond-duration radio bursts 1 – 3 . Recent observations of a Galactic FRB 4 – 8 suggest that at least some FRBs originate from magnetars, but the origin of cosmological FRBs is still not settled. Here we report the detection of 1,863 bursts in 82 h over 54 days from the repeating source FRB 20201124A (ref.  9 ). These observations show irregular short-time variation of the Faraday rotation measure (RM), which scrutinizes the density-weighted line-of-sight magnetic field strength, of individual bursts during the first 36 days, followed by a constant RM. We detected circular polarization in more than half of the burst sample, including one burst reaching a high fractional circular polarization of 75%. Oscillations in fractional linear and circular polarizations, as well as polarization angle as a function of wavelength, were detected. All of these features provide evidence for a complicated, dynamically evolving, magnetized immediate environment within about an astronomical unit ( au ; Earth–Sun distance) of the source. Our optical observations of its Milky-Way-sized, metal-rich host galaxy 10 – 12 show a barred spiral, with the FRB source residing in a low-stellar-density interarm region at an intermediate galactocentric distance. This environment is inconsistent with a young magnetar engine formed during an extreme explosion of a massive star that resulted in a long gamma-ray burst or superluminous supernova. Analysis of a set of 1,863 bursts from the repeating source FRB 20201124A provides evidence of a complicated magnetized site within about an astronomical unit from the source in a barred galaxy.

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are highly dispersed millisecond-duration radio bursts. Recent observations of a Galactic FRB suggest that at least some FRBs originate from magnetars, but the origin of cosmological FRBs is still not settled. Here we report the detection of 1863 bursts in 82 hr over 54 days from the repeating source FRB~20201124A. These observations show irregular short-time variation of the Faraday rotation measure (RM), which probes the density-weighted line-of-sight magnetic field strength, of individual bursts during the first 36 days, followed by a constant RM. We detected circular polarisation in more than half of the burst sample, including one burst reaching a high fractional circular polarisation of 75%. Oscillations in fractional linear and circular polarisations as well as polarisation angle as a function of wavelength were detected. All of these features provide evidence for a complicated, dynamically evolving, magnetised immediate environment within about an astronomical unit (au; Earth-Sun distance) of the source. Our optical observations of its Milky-Way-sized, metal-rich host galaxy reveal a barred spiral, with the FRB source residing in a low stellar density, interarm region at an intermediate galactocentric distance. This environment is inconsistent with a young magnetar engine formed during an extreme explosion of a massive star that resulted in a long gamma-ray burst or superluminous supernova.