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Creators/Authors contains: "Sand, Ketan R"

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  1. Abstract We present the first catalog of fast radio burst (FRB) host galaxies from CHIME/FRB Outriggers, selected uniformly in the radio and the optical by localizing 81 new bursts to 2″ × ∼ 60″ accuracy using CHIME and the k’niʔatn k’l ⌣ stk’masqt Outrigger station, located 66 km from CHIME. Of the 81 localized bursts, we use the probabilistic association of transients to their hosts algorithm to securely identify 21 new FRB host galaxies, and compile spectroscopic redshifts for 19 systems, 15 of which are newly obtained via spectroscopic observations. The most nearby source is FRB 20231229A, at a distance of 90 Mpc. One burst in our sample is from a previously reported repeating source in a galaxy merger (FRB 20190303A). Three new FRB host galaxies (FRBs 20230203A, 20230703A, and 20231206A) are found toward X-ray and optically selected galaxy clusters, potentially doubling the sample of known galaxy cluster FRBs. A search for radio counterparts reveals that FRB 20231128A is associated with a luminous persistent radio source (PRS) candidate with high significance (Pcc ∼ 10−2). If its compactness is confirmed, it would be the nearest known compact PRS atz= 0.1079. Our catalog significantly increases the statistics of the Macquart relation at low redshifts (z < 0.2). In the near future, the completed CHIME/FRB Outriggers array will produce hundreds of FRBs localized with very long baseline interferometry (VLBI). This will significantly expand the known sample and pave the way for future telescopes relying on VLBI for FRB localization. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available August 13, 2026
  2. Abstract Precise localizations of a small number of repeating fast radio bursts (FRBs) using very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) have enabled multiwavelength follow-up observations revealing diverse local environments. However, the 2%–3% of FRB sources that are observed to repeat may not be representative of the full population. Here we use the VLBI capabilities of the full CHIME Outrigger array for the first time to localize a nearby (40 Mpc), bright (kJy), and apparently one-off FRB source, FRB 20250316A, to its environment on 13 pc scales. We use optical and radio observations to place deep constraints on associated transient emission and the properties of its local environment. We place a 5σupper limit ofL9.9 GHz < 2.1 × 1025erg s−1Hz−1on spatially coincident radio emission, a factor of 100 lower than any known compact persistent radio source associated with an FRB. Our Keck Cosmic Webb Imager observations allow us to characterize the gas density, metallicity, nature of gas ionization, dust extinction, and star formation rate through emission line fluxes. We leverage the exceptional brightness and proximity of this source to place deep constraints on the repetition of FRB 20250316A and find that it is inconsistent with all well-studied repeaters given the nondetection of bursts at lower spectral energies. We explore the implications of a measured offset of 190 ± 20 pc from the center of the nearest star formation region in the context of progenitor channels. FRB 20250316A marks the beginning of an era of routine localizations for one-off FRBs on tens of milliarcseconds scales, enabling large-scale studies of their local environments. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available August 20, 2026
  3. Abstract We present the host galaxies of four apparently nonrepeating fast radio bursts (FRBs), FRB 20181223C, FRB 20190418A, FRB 20191220A, and FRB 20190425A, reported in the first Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME/FRB) catalog. Our selection of these FRBs is based on a planned hypothesis testing framework where we search all CHIME/FRB Catalog-1 events that have low extragalactic dispersion measure (<100 pc cm−3), with high Galactic latitude (∣b∣ > 10°) and saved baseband data. We associate the selected FRBs with galaxies with moderate to high star formation rates located at redshifts between 0.027 and 0.071. We also search for possible multimessenger counterparts, including persistent compact radio and gravitational-wave sources, and find none. Utilizing the four FRB hosts from this study, along with the hosts of 14 published local Universe FRBs (z< 0.1) with robust host association, we conduct an FRB host demographics analysis. We find all 18 local Universe FRB hosts in our sample to be spirals (or late-type galaxies), including the host of FRB 20220509G, which was previously reported to be elliptical. Using this observation, we scrutinize proposed FRB source formation channels and argue that core-collapse supernovae are likely the dominant channel to form FRB sources. Moreover, we infer no significant difference in the host properties of repeating and apparently nonrepeating FRBs in our local Universe FRB host sample. Finally, we find the burst rates of these four apparently nonrepeating FRBs to be consistent with those of the sample of localized repeating FRBs observed by CHIME/FRB. Therefore, we encourage further monitoring of these FRBs with more sensitive radio telescopes. 
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  4. Free, publicly-accessible full text available November 1, 2025
  5. Abstract We report 10 fast radio bursts (FRBs) detected in the far sidelobe region (i.e., ≥5° off-meridian) of the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) from August 28 2018 to August 31 2021. We localize the bursts by fitting their spectra with a model of the CHIME/FRB synthesized beam response. We find that the far sidelobe events have on average ∼500 times greater fluxes than events detected in CHIME’s main lobe. We show that the sidelobe sample is therefore statistically ∼20 times closer than the main lobe sample. We find promising host galaxy candidates (Pcc< 1%) for two of the FRBs, 20190112B and 20210310B, at distances of 38 and 16 Mpc, respectively. CHIME/FRB did not observe repetition of similar brightness from the uniform sample of 10 sidelobe FRBs in a total exposure time of 35,580 hr. Under the assumption of Poisson-distributed bursts, we infer that the mean repetition interval above the detection threshold of the far sidelobe events is longer than 11,880 hr, which is at least 2380 times larger than the interval from known CHIME/FRB detected repeating sources, with some caveats, notably that very narrowband events could have been missed. Our results from these far sidelobe events suggest one of two scenarios: either (1) all FRBs repeat and the repetition intervals span a wide range, with high-rate repeaters being a rare sub-population, or (2) non-repeating FRBs are a distinct population different from known repeaters. 
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  6. Abstract We present the localization and host galaxy of FRB 20190208A, a repeating source of fast radio bursts (FRBs) discovered using CHIME/FRB. As part of the Pinpointing REpeating ChIme Sources with EVN dishes repeater localization program on the European VLBI Network (EVN), we monitored FRB 20190208A for 65.6 hr at ∼1.4 GHz and detected a single burst, which led to its very long baseline interferometry localization with 260 mas uncertainty (2σ). Follow-up optical observations with the MMT Observatory (i≳ 25.7 mag (AB)) found no visible host at the FRB position. Subsequent deeper observations with the Gran Telescopio Canarias, however, revealed an extremely faint galaxy (r= 27.32 ± 0.16 mag), very likely (99.95%) associated with FRB 20190208A. Given the dispersion measure of the FRB (∼580 pc cm−3), even the most conservative redshift estimate ( z max 0.83 ) implies that this is the lowest-luminosity FRB host to date (≲108L), even less luminous than the dwarf host of FRB 20121102A. We investigate how localization precision and the depth of optical imaging affect host association and discuss the implications of such a low-luminosity dwarf galaxy. Unlike the other repeaters with low-luminosity hosts, FRB 20190208A has a modest Faraday rotation measure of a few tens of rad m−2, and EVN plus Very Large Array observations reveal no associated compact persistent radio source. We also monitored FRB 20190208A for 40.4 hr over 2 yr as part of the Extragalactic Coherent Light from Astrophysical Transients repeating FRB monitoring campaign on the Nançay Radio Telescope and detected one burst. Our results demonstrate that, in some cases, the robust association of an FRB with a host galaxy will require both high localization precision and deep optical follow-up. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available November 29, 2025
  7. Abstract In 2021, a catalog of 536 fast radio bursts (FRBs) detected with the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) radio telescope was released by the CHIME/FRB Collaboration. This large collection of bursts, observed with a single instrument and uniform selection effects, has advanced our understanding of the FRB population. Here we update the results for 140 of these FRBs for which channelized raw voltage (“baseband”) data are available. With the voltages measured by the telescope’s antennas, it is possible to maximize the telescope sensitivity in any direction within the primary beam, an operation called “beamforming.” This allows us to increase the signal-to-noise ratios of the bursts and to localize them to subarcminute precision. The improved localizations are also used to correct the beam response of the instrument and to measure fluxes and fluences with an ∼10% uncertainty. Additionally, the time resolution is increased by 3 orders of magnitude relative to that in the first CHIME/FRB catalog, and, applying coherent dedispersion, burst morphologies can be studied in detail. Polarization information is also available for the full sample of 140 FRBs, providing an unprecedented data set to study the polarization properties of the population. We release the baseband data beamformed to the most probable position of each FRB. These data are analyzed in detail in a series of accompanying papers. 
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  8. Abstract We report the non-detection of dispersed bursts between 4 and 8 GHz from 2.5 hr of observations of FRB 20200120E at 6 GHz using the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope. Our fluence limits are several times lower than the average burst fluences reported at 600 and 1400 MHz. We conclude that these non-detections are either due to high-frequency bursts being weaker and/or scintillation-induced modulated. It is also likely that our observations were non-concurrent with any activity window of FRB 20200120E. 
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  9. Abstract We present a multiband study of FRB 20180916B, a repeating source with a 16.3 day periodicity. We report the detection of four, one, and seven bursts from observations spanning 3 days using the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (300–500 MHz), the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (400–800 MHz) and the Green Bank Telescope (600–1000 MHz), respectively. We report the first ever detection of the source in the 800–1000 MHz range along with one of the widest instantaneous bandwidth detections (200 MHz) at lower frequencies. We identify 30 μ s wide structures in one of the bursts at 800 MHz, making it the lowest frequency detection of such structures for this fast radio burst thus far. There is also a clear indication of high activity of the source at a higher frequency during earlier phases of the activity cycle. We identify a gradual decrease in the rotation measure over two years and no significant variations in the dispersion measure. We derive useful conclusions about progenitor scenarios, energy distribution, emission mechanisms, and variation of the downward drift rate of emission with frequency. Our results reinforce that multiband observations are an effective approach to study repeaters, and even one-off events, to better understand their varying activity and spectral anomalies. 
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  10. Abstract We present the discovery of 25 new repeating fast radio burst (FRB) sources found among CHIME/FRB events detected between 2019 September 30 and 2021 May 1. The sources were found using a new clustering algorithm that looks for multiple events colocated on the sky having similar dispersion measures (DMs). The new repeaters have DMs ranging from ∼220 to ∼1700 pc cm−3, and include sources having exhibited as few as two bursts to as many as twelve. We report a statistically significant difference in both the DM and extragalactic DM (eDM) distributions between repeating and apparently nonrepeating sources, with repeaters having a lower mean DM and eDM, and we discuss the implications. We find no clear bimodality between the repetition rates of repeaters and upper limits on repetition from apparently nonrepeating sources after correcting for sensitivity and exposure effects, although some active repeating sources stand out as anomalous. We measure the repeater fraction over time and find that it tends to an equilibrium of 2.6 2.6 + 2.9 % over our total time-on-sky thus far. We also report on 14 more sources, which are promising repeating FRB candidates and which merit follow-up observations for confirmation. 
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