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

Kaitlyn Shin; Kiyoshi W. Masui; Mohit Bhardwaj; Tomas Cassanelli; Pragya Chawla; Matt Dobbs; Fengqiu Adam Dong; Emmanuel Fonseca; B. M. Gaensler; Antonio Herrera-Martín; Jane Kaczmarek; Victoria Kaspi; Calvin Leung; Marcus Merryfield; Daniele Michilli; Moritz Münchmeyer; Aaron B. Pearlman; Masoud Rafiei-Ravandi; Kendrick Smith; Ingrid Stairs; Shriharsh P. Tendulkar

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/acaf06

The Astrophysical Journal (Jan 2023)

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

Kaitlyn Shin,
Kiyoshi W. Masui,
Mohit Bhardwaj,
Tomas Cassanelli,
Pragya Chawla,
Matt Dobbs,
Fengqiu Adam Dong,
Emmanuel Fonseca,
B. M. Gaensler,
Antonio Herrera-Martín,
Jane Kaczmarek,
Victoria Kaspi,
Calvin Leung,
Marcus Merryfield,
Daniele Michilli,
Moritz Münchmeyer,
Aaron B. Pearlman,
Masoud Rafiei-Ravandi,
Kendrick Smith,
Ingrid Stairs,
Shriharsh P. Tendulkar

Affiliations

Kaitlyn Shin: ORCiD; MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA [email protected]; Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
Kiyoshi W. Masui: ORCiD; MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA [email protected]; Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
Mohit Bhardwaj: ORCiD; McGill 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
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
Matt Dobbs: ORCiD; McGill 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
Fengqiu Adam Dong: ORCiD; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia , 6224 Agricultural Road, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1, Canada
Emmanuel Fonseca: ORCiD; Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University , P.O. 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; Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto , 50 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
Antonio Herrera-Martín: ORCiD; David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto , 50 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3H4, Canada; Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Toronto , 700 University Ave., Toronto, ON, M5G 1Z5, Canada
Jane Kaczmarek: ORCiD; Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory, Herzberg Research Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, National Research Council Canada , P.O. Box 248, Penticton, BC, V2A 6J9, Canada
Victoria Kaspi: ORCiD; McGill 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
Calvin Leung: ORCiD; MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA [email protected]; Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
Marcus Merryfield: ORCiD; McGill 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
Daniele Michilli: ORCiD; MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA [email protected]; Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
Moritz Münchmeyer: ORCiD; Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison , 1150 University Ave, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
Aaron B. Pearlman: ORCiD; McGill 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
Masoud Rafiei-Ravandi: ORCiD; McGill 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
Kendrick Smith: ORCiD; Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics , 31 Caroline Street North, Waterloo, ON, N2L 2Y5, Canada
Ingrid Stairs: ORCiD; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia , 6224 Agricultural Road, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1, Canada
Shriharsh P. Tendulkar: ORCiD; Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research , Mumbai, 400005, India; National Centre for Radio Astrophysics , Post Bag 3, Ganeshkhind, Pune, 411007, India

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acaf06
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 944, no. 1
p. 105

Abstract

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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 of γ = $-{1.3}_{-0.4}^{+0.7}$ . Simultaneously, we infer a volumetric rate of [ ${7.3}_{-3.8}^{+8.8}$ (stat.) ${}_{-1.8}^{+2.0}(\mathrm{sys}.)]\times {10}^{4}$ Gpc ^−3 yr ^−1 above a pivot energy of 10 ^39 erg 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.

Published in The Astrophysical Journal

ISSN: 1538-4357 (Online)
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science: Astronomy: Astrophysics
Website: https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/0004-637X

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