A link between repeating and non-repeating fast radio bursts through their energy distributions
Journal article, 2024
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are extremely energetic, millisecond-duration radio flashes that reach Earth from extragalactic distances. Broadly speaking, FRBs can be classified as repeating or (apparently) non-repeating. It is still unclear, however, whether the two types share a common physical origin and differ only in their activity rate. Here we report on an observing campaign that targeted one hyperactive repeating source, FRB 20201124A, for more than 2,000 h using four 25–32 m class radio telescopes. We detected 46 high-energy bursts, many more than one would expect given previous observations of lower-energy bursts using larger radio telescopes. We find a high-energy burst distribution that resembles that of the non-repeating FRB population, suggesting that apparently non-repeating FRB sources may simply be the rarest bursts from repeating sources. Also, we discuss how FRB 20201124A contributes strongly to the all-sky FRB rate and how similar sources would be observable even at very high redshift.
Author
Franz Kirsten
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Onsala Space Observatory
O. S. Ould-Boukattine
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy
W. Herrmann
Astropeiler Stockert e.V.
M. P. Gawroński
Nicolaus Copernicus University
J. W. T. Hessels
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy
W. Lu
University of California
M. P. Snelders
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy
P. Chawla
Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy
Jun Yang
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Onsala Space Observatory
R. Blaauw
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
K. Nimmo
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
W. Puchalska
Nicolaus Copernicus University
P. Wolak
Nicolaus Copernicus University
R. van Ruiten
Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy
Nature Astronomy
23973366 (eISSN)
Vol. 8 3 337-346Onsala space observatory infrastructure
Swedish Research Council (VR) (2017-00648), 2018-01-01 -- 2021-12-31.
Subject Categories
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Other Physics Topics
DOI
10.1038/s41550-023-02153-z