Origin of long-period radio transients

Determine the astrophysical origin of long-period radio transients, specifically identifying both the underlying source class (e.g., magnetized white dwarfs, magnetars, or white dwarf binaries) and the coherent emission mechanism responsible for their periodic polarized radio bursts on minute-to-hour timescales.

Background

Long-period radio transients (LPTs) exhibit periodic, highly polarized radio bursts with periods of minutes to hours and steep radio spectra indicative of coherent, non-thermal emission. Despite a small but growing sample and several multi-wavelength detections, the community has not converged on the nature of their progenitors or the physical mechanism that produces the radio bursts.

The paper situates ASKAP J1448−6856 within this emerging class and emphasizes that, at present, the source types and emission processes producing LPTs have not been definitively established, motivating further multi-wavelength characterization and modeling.