The Astrophysical Journal Letters (Jan 2025)
The Massive and Quiescent Elliptical Host Galaxy of the Repeating Fast Radio Burst FRB 20240209A
- T. Eftekhari,
- Y. Dong,
- W. Fong,
- V. Shah,
- S. Simha,
- B. C. Andersen,
- S. Andrew,
- M. Bhardwaj,
- T. Cassanelli,
- S. Chatterjee,
- D. A. Coulter,
- E. Fonseca,
- B. M. Gaensler,
- A. C. Gordon,
- J. W. T. Hessels,
- A. L. Ibik,
- R. C. Joseph,
- L. A. Kahinga,
- V. Kaspi,
- B. Kharel,
- C. D. Kilpatrick,
- A. E. Lanman,
- M. Lazda,
- C. Leung,
- C. Liu,
- L. Mas-Ribas,
- K. W. Masui,
- R. Mckinven,
- J. Mena-Parra,
- A. A. Miller,
- K. Nimmo,
- A. Pandhi,
- S. S. Patil,
- A. B. Pearlman,
- Z. Pleunis,
- J. X. Prochaska,
- M. Rafiei-Ravandi,
- M. Sammons,
- P. Scholz,
- K. Shin,
- K. Smith,
- I. Stairs
Affiliations
- T. Eftekhari
- ORCiD
- Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astronomy (CIERA), Northwestern University , 1800 Sherman Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
- Y. Dong
- ORCiD
- Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astronomy (CIERA), Northwestern University , 1800 Sherman Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201, USA; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University , Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- W. Fong
- ORCiD
- Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astronomy (CIERA), Northwestern University , 1800 Sherman Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201, USA; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University , Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- V. Shah
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, McGill University , 3600 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2T8, Canada; Trottier Space Institute, McGill University , 3550 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada
- S. Simha
- ORCiD
- Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astronomy (CIERA), Northwestern University , 1800 Sherman Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201, USA; Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago , William Eckhart Research Center, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- B. C. Andersen
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, McGill University , 3600 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2T8, Canada; Trottier Space Institute, McGill University , 3550 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada
- S. Andrew
- 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
- M. Bhardwaj
- ORCiD
- McWilliams Center for Cosmology & Astrophysics, Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University , Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- T. Cassanelli
- ORCiD
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Universidad de Chile , Avenue Tupper 2007, Santiago 8370451, Chile
- S. Chatterjee
- ORCiD
- Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, Cornell University , Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- D. A. Coulter
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- E. Fonseca
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University , PO Box 6315, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA; Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, West Virginia University , Chestnut Ridge Research Building, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
- B. M. Gaensler
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics , University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA; David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics , 50 St. George Street, University of Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada; Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, 50 St. George Street, University of Toronto , ON M5S 3H4, Canada
- A. C. Gordon
- ORCiD
- Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astronomy (CIERA), Northwestern University , 1800 Sherman Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201, USA; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University , Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- J. W. T. Hessels
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, McGill University , 3600 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2T8, Canada; Trottier Space Institute, McGill University , 3550 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada; Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam , Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands; ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy , Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991 PD Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
- A. L. Ibik
- ORCiD
- David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics , 50 St. George Street, University of Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada; Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, 50 St. George Street, University of Toronto , ON M5S 3H4, Canada
- R. C. Joseph
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, McGill University , 3600 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2T8, Canada; Trottier Space Institute, McGill University , 3550 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada
- L. A. Kahinga
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics , University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
- V. Kaspi
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, McGill University , 3600 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2T8, Canada; Trottier Space Institute, McGill University , 3550 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada
- B. Kharel
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University , PO Box 6315, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA; Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, West Virginia University , Chestnut Ridge Research Building, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
- C. D. Kilpatrick
- ORCiD
- Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astronomy (CIERA), Northwestern University , 1800 Sherman Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
- A. E. Lanman
- 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
- M. Lazda
- ORCiD
- David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics , 50 St. George Street, University of Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada; Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, 50 St. George Street, University of Toronto , ON M5S 3H4, Canada
- C. Leung
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of California , Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- C. Liu
- ORCiD
- Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astronomy (CIERA), Northwestern University , 1800 Sherman Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201, USA; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University , Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- L. Mas-Ribas
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics , University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
- K. 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
- R. Mckinven
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, McGill University , 3600 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2T8, Canada; Trottier Space Institute, McGill University , 3550 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada
- J. Mena-Parra
- ORCiD
- David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics , 50 St. George Street, University of Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada; Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, 50 St. George Street, University of Toronto , ON M5S 3H4, Canada
- A. A. Miller
- ORCiD
- Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astronomy (CIERA), Northwestern University , 1800 Sherman Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201, USA; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University , Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- K. Nimmo
- ORCiD
- MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- A. Pandhi
- ORCiD
- David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics , 50 St. George Street, University of Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada; Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, 50 St. George Street, University of Toronto , ON M5S 3H4, Canada
- S. S. Patil
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University , PO Box 6315, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA; Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, West Virginia University , Chestnut Ridge Research Building, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
- A. B. Pearlman
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, McGill University , 3600 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2T8, Canada; Trottier Space Institute, McGill University , 3550 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada
- Z. Pleunis
- ORCiD
- Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam , Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands; ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy , Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991 PD Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
- J. X. Prochaska
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics , University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA; Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU) , 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, 277-8583, Japan; Division of Science, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan , 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan
- M. Rafiei-Ravandi
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, McGill University , 3600 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2T8, Canada
- M. Sammons
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, McGill University , 3600 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2T8, Canada; Trottier Space Institute, McGill University , 3550 rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada
- P. Scholz
- ORCiD
- Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, 50 St. George Street, University of Toronto , ON M5S 3H4, Canada; Department of Physics and Astronomy, York University , 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON MJ3 1P3, Canada
- K. 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
- K. Smith
- ORCiD
- Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics , 31 Caroline Street North, Waterloo, ON N2L 2Y5, Canada
- I. Stairs
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia , 6224 Agricultural Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad9de2
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 979,
no. 2
p. L22
Abstract
The discovery and localization of FRB 20240209A by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Fast Radio Burst (CHIME/FRB) experiment marks the first repeating FRB localized with the CHIME/FRB Outriggers and adds to the small sample of repeating FRBs with associated host galaxies. Here we present Keck and Gemini observations of the host that reveal a redshift z = 0.1384 ± 0.0004. We perform stellar population modeling to jointly fit the optical through mid-IR data of the host and infer a median stellar mass log( M _* / M _⊙ ) = 11.35 ± 0.01 and a mass-weighted stellar population age ~11 Gyr, corresponding to the most massive and oldest FRB host discovered to date. Coupled with a star formation rate <0.31 M _⊙ yr ^−1 , the specific star formation rate <10 ^−11.9 yr ^−1 classifies the host as quiescent. Through surface brightness profile modeling, we determine an elliptical galaxy morphology, marking the host as the first confirmed elliptical FRB host. The discovery of a quiescent early-type host galaxy within a transient class predominantly characterized by late-type star-forming hosts is reminiscent of short-duration gamma-ray bursts, Type Ia supernovae, and ultraluminous X-ray sources. Based on these shared host demographics, coupled with a large offset as demonstrated in our companion Letter, we conclude that preferred sources for FRB 20240209A include magnetars formed through merging binary neutron stars/white dwarfs or the accretion-induced collapse of a white dwarf, or a luminous X-ray binary. Together with FRB 20200120E localized to a globular cluster in M81, our findings provide strong evidence that some fraction of FRBs may arise from a process distinct from the core collapse of massive stars.
Keywords