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1. A measurement of Hubble’s Constant using Fast Radio Bursts

   https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac2524  

   James, C. W. ; Ghosh, E. M. ; Prochaska, J. X. ; Bannister, K. W. ; Bhandari, S. ; Day, C. K. ; Deller, A. T. ; Glowacki, M. ; Gordon, A. C. ; Heintz, K. E. ; et al ( September 2022 , Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)

   We constrain the Hubble constant H0 using Fast Radio Burst (FRB) observations from the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and Murriyang (Parkes) radio telescopes. We use the redshift-dispersion measure (‘Macquart’) relationship, accounting for the intrinsic luminosity function, cosmological gas distribution, population evolution, host galaxy contributions to the dispersion measure (DMhost), and observational biases due to burst duration and telescope beamshape. Using an updated sample of 16 ASKAP FRBs detected by the Commensal Real-time ASKAP Fast Transients (CRAFT) Survey and localized to their host galaxies, and 60 unlocalized FRBs from Parkes and ASKAP, our best-fitting value of H0 is calculated to be $73_{-8}^{+12}$ km s−1 Mpc−1. Uncertainties in FRB energetics and DMhost produce larger uncertainties in the inferred value of H0 compared to previous FRB-based estimates. Using a prior on H0 covering the 67–74 km s−1 Mpc−1 range, we estimate a median ${\rm DM}_{\rm host}= 186_{-48}^{+59}\,{\rm pc \, cm^{-3}}$, exceeding previous estimates. We confirm that the FRB population evolves with redshift similarly to the star-formation rate. We use a Schechter luminosity function to constrain the maximum FRB energy to be log10Emax$=41.26_{-0.22}^{+0.27}$ erg assuming a characteristic FRB emission bandwidth of 1 GHz at 1.3 GHz, and the cumulative luminosity index to be $\gamma =-0.95_{-0.15}^{+0.18}$. We demonstrate with a sample of 100 mock FRBs that H0 can be measured with an uncertainty of ±2.5 km s−1 Mpc−1, demonstrating the potential for clarifying the Hubble tension with an upgraded ASKAP FRB search system. Last, we explore a range of sample and selection biases that affect FRB analyses.

    

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2. Inferring the Energy and Distance Distributions of Fast Radio Bursts Using the First CHIME/FRB Catalog

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acaf06  

   Shin, Kaitlyn ; Masui, Kiyoshi W. ; Bhardwaj, Mohit ; Cassanelli, Tomas ; Chawla, Pragya ; Dobbs, Matt ; Dong, Fengqiu Adam ; Fonseca, Emmanuel ; Gaensler, B. M. ; Herrera-Martín, Antonio ; et al ( February 2023 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are brief, energetic, typically extragalactic flashes of radio emission whose progenitors are largely unknown. Although studying the FRB population is essential for understanding how these astrophysical phenomena occur, such studies have been difficult to conduct without large numbers of FRBs and characterizable observational biases. Using the recently released catalog of 536 FRBs published by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment/Fast Radio Burst (CHIME/FRB) collaboration, we present a study of the FRB population that also calibrates for selection effects. Assuming a Schechter function, we infer a characteristic energy cut-off of$E_{\mathrm{char}}={2.38}_{-1.64}^{+5.35}\times {10}^{41}$erg and a differential power-law index ofγ=$-{1.3}_{-0.4}^{+0.7}$. Simultaneously, we infer a volumetric rate of [${7.3}_{-3.8}^{+8.8}$(stat.)${}_{-1.8}^{+2.0}(\mathrm{sys}.)]\times {10}^4$Gpc⁻³yr⁻¹above a pivot energy of 10³⁹erg and below a scattering timescale of 10 ms at 600 MHz, and find we cannot significantly constrain the cosmic evolution of the FRB population with star-formation rate. Modeling the host’s dispersion measure (DM) contribution as a log-normal distribution and assuming a total Galactic contribution of 80 pc cm⁻³, we find a median value of${\mathrm{DM}}_{\mathrm{host}}={84}_{-49}^{+69}$pc cm⁻³, comparable with values typically used in the literature. Proposed models for FRB progenitors should be consistent with the energetics and abundances of the full FRB population predicted by our results. Finally, we infer the redshift distribution of FRBs detected with CHIME, which will be tested with the localizations and redshifts enabled by the upcoming CHIME/FRB Outriggers project.

    

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3. A Nonrepeating Fast Radio Burst in a Dwarf Host Galaxy

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acc178  

   Bhandari, Shivani ; Gordon, Alexa C. ; Scott, Danica R. ; Marnoch, Lachlan ; Sridhar, Navin ; Kumar, Pravir ; James, Clancy W. ; Qiu, Hao ; Bannister, Keith W. ; T. Deller, Adam ; et al ( May 2023 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   We present the discovery of an as yet nonrepeating fast radio burst (FRB), FRB 20210117A, with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), as a part of the Commensal Real-time ASKAP Fast Transients Survey. The subarcsecond localization of the burst led to the identification of its host galaxy atz= 0.214(1). This redshift is much lower than what would be expected for a source dispersion measure (DM) of 729 pc cm⁻³, given typical contributions from the intergalactic medium and the host galaxy. Optical observations reveal the host to be a dwarf galaxy with little ongoing star formation—very different to the dwarf host galaxies of the known repeating FRBs 20121102A and 20190520B. We find an excess DM contribution from the host and attribute it to the FRB’s local environment. We do not find any radio emission from the FRB site or host galaxy. The low magnetized environment and the lack of a persistent radio source indicate that the FRB source is older than those found in other dwarf host galaxies, establishing the diversity of FRB sources in dwarf galaxy environments. We find our observations to be fully consistent with the “hypernebula” model, where the FRB is powered by an accretion jet from a hyperaccreting black hole. Finally, our high time resolution analysis reveals burst characteristics similar to those seen in repeating FRBs. We encourage follow-up observations of FRB 20210117A to establish any repeating nature.

    

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4. The ultranarrow FRB20191107B, and the origins of FRB scattering

   https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac1720  

   Gupta, V. ; Flynn, C. ; Farah, W. ; Bailes, M. ; Deller, A. T. ; Day, C. K. ; Lower, M. E. ( June 2022 , Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)

   We report the detection of FRB20191107B with UTMOST radio telescope at a dispersion measure (DM) of 714.9 pc cm−3. The burst consists of three components, the brightest of which has an intrinsic width of only 11.3 μs and a scattering tail with an exponentially decaying time-scale of 21.4 μs measured at 835 MHz. We model the sensitivity of UTMOST and other major fast radio burst (FRB) surveys to such narrow events. We find that $\gt 60{{\ \rm per\, cent}}$ of FRBs like FRB20191107B are being missed, and that a significant population of very narrow FRBs probably exists and remains underrepresented in these surveys. The high DM and small scattering time-scale of FRB20191107B allows us to place an upper limit on the strength of turbulence in the intergalactic medium, quantified as scattering measure (SM), of SMIGM < 8.4 × 10−7 kpc m−20/3. Almost all UTMOST FRBs have full phase information due to real-time voltage capture, which provides us with the largest sample of coherently dedispersed single burst FRBs. Our 10.24 μs time resolution data yields accurately measured FRB scattering time-scales. We combine the UTMOST FRBs with 10 FRBs from the literature and find no obvious evidence for a DM-scattering relation, suggesting that IGM is not the dominant source of scattering in FRBs. We support the results of previous studies and identify the local environment of the source in the host galaxy as the most likely region that dominates the observed scattering of our FRBs.

    

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5. The fast radio burst population evolves, consistent with the star formation rate

   https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/slab117  

   James, C W ; Prochaska, J X ; Macquart, J-P ; North-Hickey, F O ; Bannister, K W ; Dunning, A ( December 2021 , Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters)

   ABSTRACT Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are extremely powerful sources of radio waves observed at cosmological distances. We use a sophisticated model of FRB observations – presented in detail in a companion paper – to fit FRB population parameters using large samples of FRBs detected by ASKAP and Parkes, including seven sources with confirmed host galaxies. Our fitted parameters demonstrate that the FRB population evolves with redshift in a manner consistent with, or faster than, the star formation rate (SFR), ruling out a non-evolving population at better than 98 per cent CL (depending on modelling uncertainties). Our estimated maximum FRB energy is $\log _{10} E_{\rm max} [{\rm erg}] = 41.70_{-0.06}^{+0.53}$ (68 per cent CL) assuming a 1 GHz emission bandwidth, with slope of the cumulative luminosity distribution $\gamma =-1.09_{-0.10}^{+0.14}$. We find a log-mean host DM contribution of $129_{-48}^{+66}$ pc cm−3 on top of a typical local (interstellar medium and halo) contribution of ∼80 pc cm−3, which is higher than most literature values. These results are insensitive to assumptions of the FRB spectral index, and are consistent with the model of FRBs arising as the high-energy limit of magnetar bursts, but allow for FRB progenitors that evolve faster than the SFR. 

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