The Astrophysical Journal Letters (Jan 2024)
A Repeating Fast Radio Burst Source in a Low-luminosity Dwarf Galaxy
- Danté M. Hewitt,
- Mohit Bhardwaj,
- Alexa C. Gordon,
- Aida Kirichenko,
- Kenzie Nimmo,
- Shivani Bhandari,
- Ismaël Cognard,
- Wen-fai Fong,
- Armando Gil de Paz,
- Akshatha Gopinath,
- Jason W. T. Hessels,
- Franz Kirsten,
- Benito Marcote,
- Vladislavs Bezrukovs,
- Richard Blaauw,
- Justin D. Bray,
- Salvatore Buttaccio,
- Tomas Cassanelli,
- Pragya Chawla,
- Alessandro Corongiu,
- William Deng,
- Hannah N. Didehbani,
- Yuxin Dong,
- Marcin P. Gawroński,
- Marcello Giroletti,
- Lucas Guillemot,
- Jeff Huang,
- Dmitriy V. Ivanov,
- Ronniy C. Joseph,
- Victoria M. Kaspi,
- Mikhail A. Kharinov,
- Mattias Lazda,
- Michael Lindqvist,
- Giuseppe Maccaferri,
- Lluis Mas-Ribas,
- Kiyoshi W. Masui,
- Ryan Mckinven,
- Alexey Melnikov,
- Daniele Michilli,
- Andrey G. Mikhailov,
- Anya E. Nugent,
- Omar S. Ould-Boukattine,
- Zsolt Paragi,
- Aaron B. Pearlman,
- Ue-Li Pen,
- Ziggy Pleunis,
- Ketan R. Sand,
- Vishwangi Shah,
- Kaitlyn Shin,
- Mark P. Snelders,
- Tiziana Venturi,
- Na Wang,
- David R. A. Williams-Baldwin,
- Jun Yang,
- Jianping P. Yuan
Affiliations
- Danté M. Hewitt
- ORCiD
- Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam , Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands ; [email protected]
- Mohit Bhardwaj
- ORCiD
- McWilliams Center for Cosmology, Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University , Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Alexa C. Gordon
- ORCiD
- Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University , Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Aida Kirichenko
- ORCiD
- Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Apdo. Postal 877, Ensenada, Baja California 22800, Mexico
- Kenzie Nimmo
- ORCiD
- MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research , Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Shivani Bhandari
- ORCiD
- Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam , Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands ; [email protected]; ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy , Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991 PD Dwingeloo, The Netherlands; Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC , Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991 PD Dwingeloo, The Netherlands; CSIRO Space and Astronomy, Australia Telescope National Facility , P.O. Box 76, Epping, NSW 1710, Australia
- Ismaël Cognard
- ORCiD
- Observatoire Radioastronomique de Nançay, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, Université d’Orléans , CNRS, 18330 Nançay, France
- Wen-fai Fong
- ORCiD
- Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University , Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Armando Gil de Paz
- ORCiD
- Departamento de Física de la Tierra y Astrofísica, Facultad de CC. Físicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid , E-28040, Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Física de Partículas y del Cosmos IPARCOS, Facultad de CC. Físicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid , E-28040 Madrid, Spain
- Akshatha Gopinath
- ORCiD
- Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam , Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands ; [email protected]
- Jason W. T. Hessels
- ORCiD
- Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam , Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands ; [email protected]; ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy , Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991 PD Dwingeloo, The Netherlands; Trottier Space Institute, McGill University , 3550 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada; Department of Physics, McGill University , 3600 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2T8, Canada
- Franz Kirsten
- ORCiD
- Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology , Onsala Space Observatory, 439 92, Onsala, Sweden
- Benito Marcote
- ORCiD
- ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy , Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991 PD Dwingeloo, The Netherlands; Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC , Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991 PD Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
- Vladislavs Bezrukovs
- ORCiD
- Engineering Research Institute Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre (ERI VIRAC) of Ventspils University of Applied Sciences , Inzenieru street 101, Ventspils, LV-3601, Latvia
- Richard Blaauw
- ORCiD
- ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy , Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991 PD Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
- Justin D. Bray
- ORCiD
- Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester , Alan Turing Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
- Salvatore Buttaccio
- ORCiD
- INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania , via Santa Sofia 78, I-95123, Catania, Italy; INAF-Istituto di Radioastronomia , Via Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy
- Tomas Cassanelli
- ORCiD
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Universidad de Chile , Av. Tupper 2007, Santiago 8370451, Chile
- Pragya Chawla
- ORCiD
- Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam , Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands ; [email protected]; ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy , Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991 PD Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
- Alessandro Corongiu
- ORCiD
- INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania , via Santa Sofia 78, I-95123, Catania, Italy
- William Deng
- ORCiD
- University of Toronto , David Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada; University of Cambridge , Institute of Astronomy, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK
- Hannah N. Didehbani
- Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Yuxin Dong
- ORCiD
- Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University , Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Marcin P. Gawroński
- ORCiD
- Institute of Astronomy, Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Informatics, Nicolaus Copernicus University , Grudziadzka 5, PL-87-100 Toruń, Poland
- Marcello Giroletti
- ORCiD
- INAF-Istituto di Radioastronomia , Via Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy
- Lucas Guillemot
- ORCiD
- Observatoire Radioastronomique de Nançay, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, Université d’Orléans , CNRS, 18330 Nançay, France; Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l’Environnement et de l’Espace, Université d’Orléans/CNRS , 45071 Orléans Cedex 02, France
- Jeff Huang
- ORCiD
- Trottier Space Institute, McGill University , 3550 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada; Department of Physics, McGill University , 3600 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2T8, Canada
- Dmitriy V. Ivanov
- ORCiD
- Institute of Applied Astronomy , Kutuzova Embankment 10, St. Petersburg, 191187, Russia
- Ronniy C. Joseph
- ORCiD
- Trottier Space Institute, McGill University , 3550 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada; Department of Physics, McGill University , 3600 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2T8, Canada
- Victoria M. Kaspi
- ORCiD
- Trottier Space Institute, McGill University , 3550 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada; Department of Physics, McGill University , 3600 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2T8, Canada
- Mikhail A. Kharinov
- ORCiD
- Institute of Applied Astronomy , Kutuzova Embankment 10, St. Petersburg, 191187, Russia
- Mattias Lazda
- ORCiD
- University of Toronto , David Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada; David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto , 50 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada
- Michael Lindqvist
- ORCiD
- Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology , Onsala Space Observatory, 439 92, Onsala, Sweden
- Giuseppe Maccaferri
- ORCiD
- INAF-Istituto di Radioastronomia , Via Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy
- Lluis Mas-Ribas
- ORCiD
- University of California , Santa Cruz, UCO Observatories, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
- Kiyoshi W. Masui
- ORCiD
- MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research , Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Ryan Mckinven
- ORCiD
- Trottier Space Institute, McGill University , 3550 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada; Department of Physics, McGill University , 3600 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2T8, Canada
- Alexey Melnikov
- ORCiD
- Institute of Applied Astronomy , Kutuzova Embankment 10, St. Petersburg, 191187, Russia
- Daniele Michilli
- ORCiD
- MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research , Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Andrey G. Mikhailov
- ORCiD
- Institute of Applied Astronomy , Kutuzova Embankment 10, St. Petersburg, 191187, Russia
- Anya E. Nugent
- ORCiD
- Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University , Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Omar S. Ould-Boukattine
- ORCiD
- Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam , Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands ; [email protected]; ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy , Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991 PD Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
- Zsolt Paragi
- ORCiD
- Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC , Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991 PD Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
- Aaron B. Pearlman
- ORCiD
- Trottier Space Institute, McGill University , 3550 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada; Department of Physics, McGill University , 3600 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2T8, Canada
- Ue-Li Pen
- ORCiD
- David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto , 50 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada; Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Toronto , ON, Canada
- Ziggy Pleunis
- ORCiD
- Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam , Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands ; [email protected]; ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy , Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991 PD Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
- Ketan R. Sand
- ORCiD
- Trottier Space Institute, McGill University , 3550 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada; Department of Physics, McGill University , 3600 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2T8, Canada
- Vishwangi Shah
- ORCiD
- Trottier Space Institute, McGill University , 3550 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada; Department of Physics, McGill University , 3600 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2T8, Canada
- Kaitlyn Shin
- ORCiD
- MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research , Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Mark P. Snelders
- ORCiD
- Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam , Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands ; [email protected]; ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy , Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991 PD Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
- Tiziana Venturi
- ORCiD
- INAF-Istituto di Radioastronomia , Via Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy
- Na Wang
- ORCiD
- Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory , CAS, 150 Science 1-Street, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, People's Republic of China
- David R. A. Williams-Baldwin
- ORCiD
- Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester , Alan Turing Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
- Jun Yang
- ORCiD
- Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory , CAS, 150 Science 1-Street, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, People's Republic of China
- Jianping P. Yuan
- Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory , CAS, 150 Science 1-Street, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, People's Republic of China
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad8ce1
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 977,
no. 1
p. L4
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 (2 σ ). 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 ( ${z}_{\max }\sim 0.83$ ) implies that this is the lowest-luminosity FRB host to date (≲10 ^8 L _⊙ ), 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.
Keywords
