A Hyperactive Fast Radio Burst Pinpointed in an SMC-like Satellite Host Galaxy
Journal article, 2025
Precise localizations of fast radio bursts (FRBs) are essential for uncovering their host galaxies and immediate environments. We present the milliarcsecond-precision European VLBI Network localization of FRB 20240114A, a hyperactive repeating FRB, achieving ≲90 × 30 mas (1σ) accuracy. This precision places the burst 0.5 kpc from the nucleus of its low-metallicity star-forming dwarf host at a spectroscopic redshift of z = 0.130287. Our Gran Telescopio CANARIAS spectroscopic follow-up reveals that the dwarf FRB host is gravitationally bound to a more massive, star-forming spiral galaxy. This establishes the first known instance of an FRB residing in a satellite galaxy within a larger galactic system. This configuration, analogous to the Small Magellanic Cloud orbiting the Milky Way (but at a lower overall mass scale), expands the known diversity of FRB host environments and offers important insights for interpreting seemingly “hostless” or highly offset FRBs. Furthermore, our detailed dispersion measure (DM) budget analysis indicates that the dominant contribution to FRB 20240114A’s DM likely originates from the foreground galaxy halos. This finding addresses the anomalously high DM observed for this FRB and underscores the significant role of intervening foreground structures in shaping observed FRB DMs, which is important for accurate FRB-based cosmological measurements. Our results highlight the importance of deep, high-resolution optical/infrared observations (e.g., with the Hubble or James Webb Space Telescopes) to fully leverage our precise radio localization and probe the immediate astrophysical birthplaces of FRB progenitors within these complex galactic systems.
Author
M. Bhardwaj
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)
M. P. Snelders
Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
J. W. T. Hessels
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
McGill University
Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy
A. Gil De Paz
Complutense University
Shivani Bhandari
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
B. Marcote
Joint Institute for Very Long Baseline Interferometry European Research Infrastructure Consortium (JIVE)
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
Aida Kirichenko
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
O. S. Ould-Boukattine
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy
Franz Kirsten
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Onsala Space Observatory
Emmanuel K. Bempong-Manful
University of Bristol
University of Manchester
V. Bezrukovs
Ventspils Augstskola
Justin D. Bray
University of Manchester
S. Buttaccio
Istituto di Radioastronomia
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
A. Corongiu
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
R. Feiler
Nicolaus Copernicus University (SGMK)
M. P. Gawroński
Nicolaus Copernicus University (SGMK)
Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy
M. Giroletti
Istituto di Radioastronomia
Danté M. Hewitt
Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy
Michael Lindqvist
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Onsala Space Observatory
G. Maccaferri
Istituto di Radioastronomia
A. Moroianu
Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy
K. Nimmo
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Z. Paragi
Joint Institute for Very Long Baseline Interferometry European Research Infrastructure Consortium (JIVE)
W. Puchalska
Nicolaus Copernicus University (SGMK)
N. Wang
Chinese Academy of Sciences
David Williams-Baldwin
University of Manchester
J. P. Yuan
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Astrophysical Journal Letters
2041-8205 (ISSN) 2041-8213 (eISSN)
Vol. 992 2 L35Onsala space observatory infrastructure
Swedish Research Council (VR) (2017-00648), 2018-01-01 -- 2021-12-31.
Subject Categories (SSIF 2025)
Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Cosmology
Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences
DOI
10.3847/2041-8213/ae0b68