Exploring the Lensing of Cosmological Transients on Nanosecond Timescales

Abstract

From gentle beach waves to violent gamma-ray bursts all transient signals are shaped by the environments through which they propagate. By understanding these propagation effects, we can use observed transients to infer properties about environments that are impossible to observe directly. Using fast radio bursts, this thesis develops our understanding of gravitational lensing and plasma scattering, as ways to constrain the identity of dark matter, and the turbulence of extragalactic material.